BJP Accuses Mamata Banerjee Of "Fudging" Bengal Coronavirus Figures

Mamata Banerjee is moving around in a huge carcade in violation of lockdown, BJP MLA claimed. (File)

The BJP accused the TMC government in West Bengal on Saturday of "hiding" the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis in the state by "fudging" figures and alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party colleagues violated the lockdown norms routinely.

At a press interaction organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through a video-conference, its MPs from West Bengal, including Union minister Debasree Chaudhuri, said they were "forcibly" confined to their homes while Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and workers were moving around freely.

Mr Chaudhuri and another MP, Sukanta Majumdar, alleged that they were served with quarantine notices by the local administration so that they could not step out to provide ration and other relief material to the masses.

With the Assembly polls in the state due next year, the BJP has turned the heat on the TMC government over its alleged poor handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the state's ruling party has, in turn, accused its rival, which is in power at the Centre, of trying to defame it.

The BJP leaders alleged that the West Bengal government is "fudging" the coronavirus infection figures in the state.

Mr Chaudhari noted that the state government revised its figures on Friday due to pressure from a central team to come clean.

There is a huge difference between the reality and what the state government is saying, she said.

BJP MLA Sabyasachi Dutta alleged that dead bodies are being cremated secretly in the state.

He also claimed that Mamata Banerjee is moving around in a huge carcade in violation of the lockdown norms.

Mr Dutta said nobody really knows how many coronavirus patients are there in the state.

BJP MP Subhas Sarkar said, "The state government is neither conducting adequate number of tests nor providing the correct tallies of infected people and deaths caused by the virus. In many cases, deaths caused by the virus have been attributed to other reasons."

MPs John Barla and Jayanta Kumar Roy said BJP functionaries were stopped from carrying out relief work, while TMC workers were distributing the ration provided by the Centre with photographs of the chief minister.

Another party MP, Arjun Singh, lashed out at the TMC, saying its workers have been selling the free ration provided by the Centre to people.