Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asked whether
the Union government was doing justice by sending inter-ministerial
central teams to the state in the midst of a crisis.
“You tell me
whether it is a justice. Any one can come to assist, but not for other
reason... Please this is not the time,” Mamata told a news conference at
Nabanna on Monday.
The chief minister had sent a letter to the
Prime Minister on April 20 soon after two teams had reached Bengal to
assess the lockdown measures and Covid-19 preparedness, pointing out
that the officials had been sent unilaterally, which was against the
spirit of federal structure.
Mamata said state government
officials were too busy in replying to questions of the teams and it was
becoming tough for them to do regular work related to the control of
the pandemic.
“What is the reason behind sending the team... Will officers work or appear before them?” she asked.
The
chief minister reacted, sources said, after the teams sent four letters
to the chief secretary and sought several clarifications from the state
government.
Despite the initial reservations about the way the
teams were sent, the state government has been co-operating with the
central officials in terms of holding meetings, giving presentations and
arranging their visits to dedicated Covid hospitals, quarantine centres
and hotsopts in Calcutta, Howrah and East Midnapore in south Bengal and
several places in north Bengal.
The reason behind the state
government’s cooperation with the central team was clear when the chief
minister said she didn’t want to quarrel with any one on the issue at
this juncture. “They (the Centre) would send central teams and instigate
others to instigate us. But we don’t want to quarrel,” said Mamata.
The
team for south Bengal visited a dedicated Covid hospital in East
Midnapore and some other places, including markets in the district, on
Monday. The team that is touring north Bengal visited some places in
Siliguri and neighbouring Jalpaiguri on Monday.
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