Bengal: Covid-19 triggers Centre-state battle

By Sirshendu Panth

Kolkata, April 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) What started off as small frictional niggles, is now threatening to become a full blown Centre-state war between the BJP-led central government and West Bengal's Trinamool Congress dispensation over the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the Centre's ruling BJP sharpened its attack on the state regime by opening multiple fronts involving constitutional functionaries and officials over the past few days, chief minister Mamata Banerjee also upped the ante against the union government and the saffron outfit by raising a host of issues.

With the state scheduled to hold assembly polls in about a year, neither the ruling Trinamool nor the main challenger BJP are willing to concede any ground to each other in terms of the management of the disease or in reaching relief to the sections of the society during the ongoing Covid 19 induced lockdown.

The ministry of home affairs, Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, union minister Babul Supriyo have seemingly taken up cudgels for the Centre, with state BJP leaders including its president Dilip Ghosh keeping the political pressure on the TMC government. At the other end, the chief minister has been returning the fire.

The confrontation reached a flashpoint two days back when the union home ministry wrote to the state Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police seeking action against what it called 'dilution' of lockdown measures in the state, and railed against permission for religious gatherings given by the state cops.

"There is no regulation on vegetable, fish and mutton markets where people have been thronging in complete violation of social distancing norms in Rajabazaar, NarkelDanga, Topsia, Metiabruz, Garden Reach, Ikbalpur and Maniktala in Kolkata," read the letter sent by the Internal Security Division of the MHA.

The ministry said such a scenario was in complete violation of its orders, and sought timely strict action and a report on the steps taken against the violators.

Banerjee responded by indicating that the Centre's letter had communal undertones, as the areas mentioned were all dominated by the Muslim community.

"And you know very well whom Delhi wants to keep special vigilance on. We are now not fighting any communal virus. We are fighting a disease," she said.

But the initial days of the pandemic had seen some rare unity in Bengal, with the opposition parties including the BJP promising to back the state government in its moves to combat the disease and its fallout.

However, the united voices soon gave way to discordant notes, as Banerjee started coming out on the streets daily accompanied by large media teams, as she visited markets and hospitals, and handed out relief personally to rickshaw pullers, workers, pavement dwellers and other non-privileged sections.

Initially taken unprepared, the BJP tried to even up by taking relief to these sections, but its leaders, MPs and MLAs were stopped by the police and administration.

"The police claim that our initiatives will lead to large gatherings and hinder social distancing. When the chief minister hits the streets with hundreds of people, that is fine. But when we want to give some succour to the people, that is unacceptable to them. This is the state of democracy in Bengal," said Ghosh.

Soon after, allegations poured in that the Banerjee government was suppressing the Covid-19 death count. The issue became big as Banerjee and the state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha highlighted co-morbidity - presence of one or more additional conditions co-occurring with a primary condition - in some of the deceased coronavirus positive patients, to claim the deaths were not related to the viral disease.

Till April 12, the government has confirmed seven deaths. It has also announced a death audit committee to take the final call on deciding whether a patient died of coronavirus.

Besides, there were also allegations that the state was carrying out one of the lowest number of tests.

"There are 29,500 testing kits in Kolkata, but they are not being used. The testing centre at National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) is hardly being sent samples," alleged Supriyo.

He cited a list provided by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation - ironically run by the Trinamool - claiming it has arranged for the last rites of ten persons who died of Covid 19.

"The formation of the death audit committee is nothing but a firewall to suppress the number of deaths," said Supriyo.

Dhankhar, whose bitter relations with the Banerjee government is all too well known, has been regularly tweeting, coming on television channels and uploading video messages on his social media account to fire salvos at the Trinamool regime.

On Monday itself, Dhankhar let go a Twitter punch, as he asked Banerjee to "end Lockdown with Raj Bhawan".

Dhankhar in the recent past has repeatedly alleged that social distancing was not being maintained, particularly in the districts.

The chief minister, on the other hand, has complained bitterly against the Centre about economic issues, asking for a grant of Rs 25,000 crore to battle the disease, and seeking over Rs 13,000 crore dues pending with the centre.

"We have written eight letters. But nothing has come so far. We are waiting and watching," she said recently.

During Saturday's video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee expressed dismay over corporate donations to PM-Cares fund qualifying as CSR spending, unlike donations to the chief minister's emergency relief fund.

She called it "bulldozing of the federal set up".

Banerjee has also lashed out against the Centre for not sending to the state adequate number of personal protective equipment or testing kits.

Continuing her aggressive stand, she also told Modi to rein in union ministers and his party leaders.

"Union ministers should also maintain courtesy and desist from making loose comments. Nobody should play dirty games," Banerjee said.

Source: IANS