BJP says CM Mamata Banerjee will pay heavy price in WB polls for mishandling COVID crisis

Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of "abject failure" in handling the COVID-19 situation and the migrant workers crisis, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday said the TMC should be ready to "pay a heavy price" for it in the next assembly election in West Bengal.

He added that any "PR agency" or poll strategist Prashant Kishor won't be able to save the party. He also dismissed the Congress' criticism that the coronavirus lockdown was "poorly planned", alleging the party was "politically bankrupt" and looking up to "corrupt regional parties like the TMC" to run its show.

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On the issue of tweaking of labour laws in the BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Vijayvargiy told PTI in an interview that the changes "keeping in mind the interest of the labourers were necessary if India aims to become a manufacturing giant like China".

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Demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation for her "failure" to effectively handle the coronavirus crisis, the BJP's West Bengal minder refuted allegations that the saffron party was targeting her government for political reasons, and instead accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of doing politics on the issue. He said the confrontational approach of the TMC government towards the Centre at the time of crisis has not served any purpose. "Except the TMC's objective to politicise a medical crisis ahead of the next year's poll. We don't believe in doing politics at the time of crisis. But what Mamata Banerjee has been doing in Bengal in the name of handling the crisis is condemnable."

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West Bengal COVID count

Seven more COVID-19 fatalities were recorded in West Bengal, raising the death toll to 160 in the state, while 115 new cases pushed the virus count to 2,576, Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said on Saturday. The state has so far attributed 72 other deaths to comorbid health conditions, where the novel coronavirus was incidental.

At least 115 new COVID-19 cases have been reported since Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,576, he said. Since Friday evening, 63 people have been discharged from different hospitals after recovering from the infection, leaving 1,452 active cases in the state, the home secretary added. 

(with PTI inputs)

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