Holding once again the BJP responsible for increasing numbers of corona cases in Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that she had requested the Election Commission with folded hands to club the last three phases of elections into one but the poll body would not listen because the BJP Government did not want that to happen.
Banerjee who was addressing a rally at Kaliaganj in North Bengal said, “I have requested the Election Commission with folded hands to wrap up remaining three phases of elections on a single day or at least combine the last two phases in one so that at least one day of contamination is saved but they would not listen to it because the BJP does not want it.”
Attacking the saffron outfit and all its national leaders for “camping in Bengal without having any consideration for the surging corona cases,” the Chief Minister said “they are bringing lakhs of outsiders for campaigning without checking their health status and infecting the people of Bengal … the voters will definitely take note of this insensitivity.”
The Chief Minister had earlier said that she would not conduct big rallies in Kolkata and limit her public meetings to small 30-minute shows. The BJP leadership however said that the Chief Minister’s decision to shrink her public programmes in Kolkata only after the poor attendance in her road-show on Sunday.
“There were only a few hundred people in Mamata didi’s road show … she does not want more embarrassment and so she is hiding behind the excuse of corona … had she been so sensitive then why had she been organizing big rallies in earlier phases?” BJP leader JP Majumdar said.
Speaking to the media at Malda, Banerjee also announced early summer vacations for the government schools in Bengal.
“As a precautionary measure we are declaring summer vacations early and further decision would be taken only after the month of June … I would request the private schools to follow suit too,” she said adding her Government was taking all the precautionary measures to contain a second surge of the pandemic.
On the Class X and XII examinations, the West Bengal Chief Minister said “we will soon take a decision about secondary and higher secondary examinations” which are scheduled to take place in May and June.
On the question of lockdown she asked people not to get panicked. “There is no reason to be panicked … we are not thinking of lockdown immediately because it does not solve the situation … instead of force we want to deal the situation tenderly … let the people cooperate and let us cooperate with them.”
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s allegations Home Minister Amit Shah said that “the BJP is the not the authority to decide on the modalities of elections … it is for the Commission to decide … it had called an all-party meeting after which they cut down campaigning by a day in every phase … then they gave us some instructions and we are following it … now rest is with the Commission.”
Wondering why the Chief Minister would not attend the meetings called by the Centre to discuss the pandemic issue his ministerial colleague Ravi Shankar Prasad said “election is a constitutional obligation undertaken by the Election Commission … whatever directions they have given we are following.”