The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday alleged that the "callous approach" of the BJP-led central government in allowing international flights to operate till the last week of March resulted in the spike in COVID-19 cases in West Bengal.
The BJP hit back accusing the TMC of "trying to pass the buck" on others for its own shortcomings.
The ruling party's castigating remarks came a day after the Centre's inter-ministerial team had pointed out that the COVID-19 mortality rate in West Bengal is highest in the country at 12.8 per cent which reflects "low testing and weak surveillance" in tackling the pandemic.
According to latest updates, West Bengal has reported over 1300 confirmed cases of coronavirus. There have been 68 deaths while 264 have recovered.
Accusing the BJP of trying to politicise the COVID-19 crisis in Bengal, TMC secretary-general and the state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said the two central teams were sent by the union government "with the intention to malign the state government".
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked for suspension of international and domestic flights and trains but the Centre didn't pay any attention to it at that time. This callous approach is one of the main reasons behind the spike in the number of cases in the state," Chatterjee said while addressing a virtual press conference.
The TMC had been asking to suspend Parliament but the central government didn't take the threat seriously then. Despite World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, the Centre was late to react to it, he said.
"The state was given faulty kits. Despite the state government seeking clarifications regarding the lockdown, the Centre is yet to give clarifications," he said.
"In February, when COVID-19 had started spreading around the world, our Prime Minister spent Rs 80 crore for Donald Trump's three-hour visit to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where there were people from around the world attending the Namaste Trump event with over 1 lakh people packed in a stadium.
"Can the central government guarantee that there was no transmission of infection in that event and there weren't attendees from Bengal who possibly carried the virus back to the state," another senior TMC leader and minister Rajib Banerjee asked.
Noting that the chief minister has been leading from the front and accusing the BJP of trying to politicise this by maligning Bengal, Chatterjee claimed that when WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, the saffron party was busy horse-trading in Madhya Pradesh.
Accusing the central team of being biased against the state government, Chatterjee said the team was sent with the intention to malign the state government and its efforts in tackling the pandemic.
In a strong riposte, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the state government and TMC is now trying to pass the buck by blaming others.
"Initially, they tried to hide the figures, when the failed to do so, they started blaming the centre. The TMC has a bad habit of blaming us for every wrongdoing it committed," Ghosh added.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
