Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to interact with PM Modi via video link (File)
Kolkata:
On Wednesday, only six chief ministers will participate in a video call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the coronavirus epidemic in the country and what to do after the current lockdown ends on June 30.
The Bengal Mamata Banerjee will not be among those six, although the state was on the calendar published by the Prime Minister’s Office last week.
The previous program listed 15 states – the hardest hit by the COVID-19 epidemic. A truncated list was released on Monday, in which Bengal was reported missing.
This last-minute review angered Ms. Banerjee, which was clearly highlighted by tweets from the Trinamool High Congress, which attacked the center to strangle democracy and stifle the voice of the Chief Minister of Bengal.
Banerjee herself has yet to respond to the attack by Interior Minister Amit Shah at last week’s virtual rally, where he taunted the chief minister by stating: “The name ‘Corona Express’ you gave, Mamata Have I got, will become your exit route “.
“Why would you call our honorable chief minister for a VC (videoconference) if you fear it so much that you can’t even let it speak?” Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, MP for Lok Sabha from Barasat, said.
Dinesh Trivedi, Member of Parliament for Rajya Sabha, said the center was so wary of “constructive criticism of Ms. Banerjee on the COVID-19 response that our honorable chief minister was reduced to a silent spectator for the latest series of VCs” .
“The people of Bengal will not forgive this,” he added.
Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said the center was trying to stifle democracy.
PM Modi Hosts Videoconferences With Chief Ministers To Review Coronavirus Situation
Sources said that Ms. Banerjee, who fought a long battle with the center on several issues, including Bengal’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, may no longer even attend the meeting.
A representative can be replaced instead.
Wednesday’s videoconference will be the seventh time PM Modi has interacted with chief ministers regarding the coronavirus crisis; the sixth was Tuesday when he met with leaders from 20 states.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the Prime Minister praised cooperation between the center and the state, saying: “In the future, when India studies the fight against Corona, this period will also be remembered for how we worked together during this period, presenting the best example of federalism cooperation. “
It is not the first time that an icy impasse has arisen between Mamata Banerjee and the center over videoconferences.
On April 27, Ms. Banerjee was not on a list of speakers to interact with PM Modi. She suggested that she could skip the meeting, but that she eventually participated.
On May 11, she attended and struck at the center for engaging in politics against the coronavirus, discriminating against Bengal and “not consulting states but only imposing decisions”.
India has experienced a disturbing increase in coronavirus cases in the past few days; there are now 3.43 lakh cases with 10,667 new infections in the past 24 hours, according to government data on Tuesday morning.
Bengal has 11,494 cases (of which 5,515 are active) and has reported 485 deaths.
