Coronavirus: Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien said IMCT's visit to West Bengal "served no purpose"
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien has taken a swipe at a central team sent to West Bengal to investigate alleged violations of the coronavirus lockdown and lapses by the state government.
The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) is tasked with assessing the situation in Bengal, issue directions to the state authorities and submit their report to the centre, the Home Ministry has said.
"IMCT #Bengal visit served no purpose. Visiting districts with no hotspots. Asking for committee already in place. Real aim is to spread the political virus. Doing it shamelessly. Blatantly. Take ur pick. IMCT= India's Most Callous Team. IMCT= I Must Cause Trouble (in Bengal)," Derek O'Brien tweeted today.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the centre have been attacking each other over the IMCT's visit to Bengal. The centre has warned Bengal, citing the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and a Supreme Court order to say the Bengal government must comply with orders and co-operate with the central team.
Soon after the tweet, the Trinamool Congress MP tweeted a video message:
Union Minister Babul Supriyo then questioned Derek O'Brien in a tweet. "…Sadly your party @aitc has turned this entire #Covid_19 matter into Childplay with all the fudged numbers good to go for a Quiz contest," Mr Supriyo tweeted.
The IMCT has sought from the state Chief Secretary, among other things, information about people who attended an event held by the Islamic sect Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi's Nizamuddin. Many of them were found infected with coronavirus. The team asked details about their quarantine status and how many of them have tested positive.
According to sources, the team went to North Bengal's Kalimpong today to see the status of the lockdown and healthcare facilities after 11 members of a family tested positive for coronavirus. The sources said no district administration official was available to meet the IMCT.
The IMCT has written another letter to the Bengal Chief Secretary with their observations from a visit to Howrah and raised questions over the effectiveness of quarantine facilities and surveillance zones.
The IMCT in the letter alleged the Bengal government has not been cooperating with them and giving adequate security.
"The Chief Secretary of West Bengal has been widely reported in the media of having stated in his daily press conference that the IMCT is free to visit anywhere and senior officers of the state government cannot waste their time accompanying the IMCT. The above stand is in clear violation of the order of the Home Ministry… as the state government is expected to provide logistic support and facilitate all field visits," IMCT team leader Apurva Chandra said in the letter.
"In the absence of police escort, would the state government take responsibility for the safety and security of the IMCT if it ventures out on its own?" the central team said in the letter.
For the first time, Bengal on Friday officially linked 57 deaths to COVID-19. The state government revealed that according to its death audit committee, 57 COVID-19 patients had died, but asserted that 39 of these were due to co-morbidities.