KOLKATA: The TMC has found a new weapon to attack BJP. It’s the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the saffron party of bringing in outsiders for election work, which she claims, has caused a surge in numbers.
Addressing a rally at Nabadwip in Nadia on Friday, Mamata said: “Do not spread coronavirus in Bengal Narendra Modiji. I am repeatedly saying this. You can visit Bengal and address rallies. But your party is bringing in people from Gujarat and Rajasthan for erecting stages and doing other works for BJP rallies. These outsiders are spreading Covid in Bengal,” she lashed out.
Claiming that the pandemic scenario in Bengal was under control, the CM continued lambasting the BJP. “We kept cases under control. But since the outsiders started stepping in, cases are rising alarmingly.’’
Without naming BJP’s heavyweights visiting Bengal, Mamata said: “The situation was alright for five-six months. Modiji could have saved all by giving vaccines. But he did not do that. Now they are bringing thousands of people in Bengal who are going back after spreading the virus.”
Mamata requested the Election Commission to make Covid-19 tests mandatory for outsiders.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who visited the state on several occasions and addressed rallies, tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
Bengal recorded its highest single-day spike of 6,769 cases in the last 24 hours.
Mamata used the ‘outsider’ jibe on several occasions in the past while attacking BJP. She labelled the saffron camp a party of outsiders who do not understand Bengal’s culture. As the state is witnessing a fierce electoral battle, she has given a new twist to the narrative by adding the Covid-19 angle.
Referring to her promise to give free Covid vaccines, Mamata accused the Centre of doing politics.
“I wanted free vaccination for all. But the Centre is not giving us adequate doses. BJP is doing politics over this which is shameful,” she said.
Local labourers and decorators can be engaged for the purpose after necessary COVID-19 tests, Banerjee said.
At another meeting at Jagatdal, the TMC supremo said that COVID test of those coming from outside, the decorators and workers should be made mandatory.
She claimed that the Covid situation in states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat was far worse than Bengal.
"In UP they (the BJP government of that state) have built walls around cremation sites to secretly burn bodies. The situation in Gujarat is alarming. A Bengali lady professor died there of coronavirus due to lack of treatment."
She also alleged that untrained non-medical persons were administering "so-called vaccines from BJP party offices in Gujarat".
Blaming the BJP of trying to stop her from canvassing by "targeting her leg", Banerjee said she has been able to overcome the situation with the blessings of the people.
"The injury has healed 75 per cent," she said.
Hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the TMC supremo said he is repeatedly telling in meetings that Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja are not allowed in West Bengal.
"This is nothing but a bunch of lies".
"And what kind of lies! We don't allow Durga puja, Kali puja, Saraswati puja, Chhat Puja in Bengal? What does he know about our pujas, our culture? Do we sit at home wearing new clothes on Durga puja days and don't go to pandals to offer pushpanjali? "Don't we hold Lakshmi puja and Saraswati puja at almost every home? Don't we celebrate Chhat puja? Despite being ignorant about Bengal, Amit Shah is repeatedly saying the same thing at every meeting! Will he quit politics if he is proved wrong?," Banerjee asked.
BJP is following the 'Goebbels theory' to establish a falsehood by repeating it every day.
"But people of the state know the real situation," she asserted.
She accused BJP of plotting to delete names of bonafide citizens, who had settled in the country decades ago.
"Those who came to the country till March 1971 are citizens. Why will they have to prove their citizenship? Those refugees who have been given land deeds for settling on private or government lands are citizens and cannot be sent to detention camps by BJP.
"Cast your vote and ensure that they (BJP) are not elected and cannot delete your names in any National Population Register exercise," she said.
Addressing the Matua community, whose members form a significant chunk of the electorate in the border areas of North 24 Parganas district, she said "Only Trinamool Congress had been on your side for three decades. We had conferred the Bangabibhusan award to Baroma (Binapani Devi, the matriarch of the community), we had supervised all her treatment. Where were those who have suddenly surfaced at Thakurnagar now? "From building higher educational institutions to rail stations and development of the Matua community headquarters at Thakurnagar, from constituting a board to improve the condition of Namasudras our (TMC) government took up many measures to improve your (Matua community's) condition. BJP only makes empty promises".
At another meeting at Noapara, Banerjee claimed that her car had been chased by saffron party workers at Bhatpara, an area which is the stronghold of its leader Arjun Singh, in 2019 and that TMC office had been forcibly painted saffron so that BJP could lay claim to them.
"I stood against that terror and we have to resist BJP terror this time," she added.
The COVID-19 tally in West Bengal mounted to 6,43,795 on Friday after the highest single-day spike of 6,910 new cases were reported in the state, the health department said.
On Friday the Revolutionary Socialist Party candidate for Jangipur assembly constituency, Pradip Kumar Nandi who tested positive for COVID-19 died in a Berhampore hospital, health department officials confirmed.
The toll rose to 10,506 with 26 deaths registered in the state in the last 24 hours, it said in a bulletin.
The city accounted for the highest single-day jump of 1,844 new cases and nine deaths, the bulletin said.
Of the rest 17, seven deaths were reported in North 24 Parganas, three each in Howrah and Malda, two in Murshidabad and one death each in Purba Medinipur and Nadia districts, it said.
Sixteen out of the 26 deaths were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental.
North 24 Parganas district accounted for 1,592 new cases, while Howrah reported 420 cases, the bulletin said.
At least 2,818 recoveries were reported in the state and the discharge rate continued to slip and was 91.99 per cent.
Till Friday, 5,92,242 people have recovered from the disease in the state.
Since Thursday 40,153 samples have been tested in West Bengal taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 97,15,115, the bulletin said.
Nandi's death took the number of candidates who died due to the disease to two, they said.
Nandi (73), who tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, was in home isolation and was rushed to the hospital on Thursday night after his condition deteriorated, the official said.
Nandi had certain comorbidities and he passed away at around 6PM, he added.
On Thursday Congress candidate for Samsherganj constituency in Murshidabad district, Rezaul Haque, who too had tested positive for COVID19, passed away at a city hospital.
Following Nandi's death, the Election Commission declared polling at Jangipur assembly constituency void, an official said.
Meanwhile, owing to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, hospitals in the city have decided to postpone planned surgeries for at least next two weeks, an official of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCREC) said.
The decision was taken at a meeting held between WBCREC and private hospitals on Friday.
WBCREC chairman Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee said that requests to increase COVID-19 hospitals by at least 30 per cent was made to the authorities of the medical establishments.
(With PTI Inputs)
