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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, 20 May, hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after attending a meeting that was held to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Dubbing the meeting “super flop”, Mamata said:
Alleging that the chief ministers of various states were not allowed to speak in the virtual meeting, Banerjee told reporters that they experienced “humiliation”, as they were treated like puppets.
She further, as per ANI, asked: “Is the Prime Minister feeling so insecure that he did not bother to listen to the chief ministers?”
Since February, this is the first meeting by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that is being attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reported ANI.
Banerjee was further reported to have said:
Also stating that she will keep her promise and provide vaccines to all people if she gets them, Banerjee added: “But they are not providing doses.”
She also alleged that the PM is “busy making big buildings and statues of his, while people are dying”.
Meanwhile, reacting to Mamata Banerjee’s criticism, her former aide Suvendu Adhikari claimed that she had "once again shown her total disinterest in administration" and politicised the PM's meeting with District Magistrates.
At the meeting that took place on Thursday morning, officials from 54 districts, nine of which are from Bengal, as well as officials from the Union Health Ministry were reported to have taken part.
Banerjee had skipped the last meeting PM Modi had held with the chief ministers of several states on 23 April, saying that she had not been invited.
PM Modi, in the meeting, asked district officials to collect data on children and young people being infected with COVID-19 in the second wave.
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the hard work of district-level officials and cautioned them against underestimating the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee on Thursday also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to provide at least 20 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine for inoculation of all state and Central government employees.
Banerjee, in her letter, also claimed that the Centre's policies have "no room to accommodate the needs" of people who run a greater risk of contracting the viral disease, including bankers, railway and airport employees, and those working in defence or coal sectors. She also asked the PM to make adequate number of doses available for personnel engaged in “priority sectors” without any further delay.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI and The Indian Express.)
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