A truce was called between the Centre and the Bengal Government on Wednesday ending the ongoing “corona warfare” with the State Government agreed to allow the inter-ministerial Central teams (IMCTs) to inspect the red zones but not before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slamming Centre’s “biased and domineering” approach in unleashing inspection teams without consulting the State.
Mamata flayed the Centre for sending IMCTs to look into the alleged “dilution” of lockdown protocols instead of sending adequate number of testing kits to Kolkata.
While State Chief Secretary wrote a letter of compliance to the Centre saying the State Government was cooperating with the IMCT and he had personally met the Central officials to arrange for their visits to various places, Mamata blew hot saying how canards were being spread everyday about low number of tests in Bengal.
"This is absolutely false … they were not only sending inadequate number of kits but also sending faulty ones … and now they are blaming us," the Chief Minister said adding how "they (the BJP Government) are talking and sending big teams everyday and issuing advisories but doing nothing worthwhile to help us out."
Referring to a strongly worded letter from the Home Ministry she said, "They are sending strong letters. That is their prerogative. I can also send strong letters but I am not doing that because we are fighting the virus at ground level."
Mamata, who personally hit the streets for the second day on Wednesday asking the people over microphone to follow the lockdown protocols and remain indoors, said, "There they (Centre) are sending faulty kits and then they are using the media to malign our State which is deplorable at a time when all the Governments should work together."
Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, on the other hand, wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla --- in reply to his strongly worded letter warning the former that Bengal needed to cooperate with the Central team --- that there had been "no non-cooperation" with the IMCTs.
Making it clear that since the Central teams arrived without prior consultation --- a grudge that the State had already made known to Delhi --- Sinha said that there was no opportunity to provide logistic support, nor did the teams seek such support.
In his letter denying reports that the Central team was not cooperated with, Sinha wrote, "The teams had arrived without any prior consultation with us and therefore there was neither such opportunity to provide any logistic support... Nor did the teams ask for any help. They went to BSF guest house in Kolkata and the SSB guest house at Siliguri on their own."
He then wrote giving "highest assurance" that the Central orders would be complied with.
The IMCT had alleged that it had been stopped from moving around and meeting the people and health officials by the State police. Later it brought the whole affair to the notice of the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla who then wrote to the Chief Secretary warning him of action if orders were not complied with.