A senior doctor suffering from the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19, died in Kolkata on Sunday amid a political tussle between the state government and the Opposition over the handling of the crisis that has claimed 18 lives in the state and infected 611 people.
Biplab Kanti Dasgupta, 60, assistant director of health services and in-charge of the state’s central medical store, died at a private hospital. His swab samples had tested positive on April 17. His spouse is also battling Covid-19.
Condoling his death, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement, “His sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts and will make our COVID warriors fight the deadly virus with even greater determination.”
This came on a day a top doctors forum expressed concern over health care workers contracting the infection. “We urge the health and administrative authorities to proactively look into the matter as it is of grave concern. With limited resources at disposal, we cannot afford to have a situation where shortage of healthcare providers poses a threat to delivery of care,” the West Bengal Doctors’ Forum wrote. The state government has not revealed how many health care professionals have Covid-19, a top official indicated that the figure was at least 50.
The Trinamool Congress government’s handling of the crisis has been criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party and on Sunday, Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is an MP from Berhampore in Bengal, tore into the Mamata Banerjee administration.
{{/usCountry}}The Trinamool Congress government’s handling of the crisis has been criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party and on Sunday, Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is an MP from Berhampore in Bengal, tore into the Mamata Banerjee administration.
{{/usCountry}}“Mamata Banerjee’s theatrics had made it quite evident that the government was suppressing information… luckily, central teams came to Bengal. Otherwise, the state government was cheating on the people. I have no hesitation is saying that it was our good fortune that the union home ministry sent IMCTs to the state. I congratulate the team for showing activeness and patience despite the hindrances they faced from the state government,” Chowdhury wrote on social media, referring to the visit of two inter-ministerial central teams to the state.
His remarks came hours after Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O-Brien attacked the IMCT “They came here to spread the political virus… absolutely to spread the political virus on behalf of the government of India. They did it shamelessly, they did not blatantly,” he said.
In response, the BJP carried out a ‘demonstration at home’ event to protest alleged atrocities on party leaders and workers in the state during the lockdown. BJP leaders and workers sat at their home or outside their residences, carrying posters, and posted photos on social media.
“The Trinamool government in the state has politicised the relief programme. BJP leaders are being barred from carrying our relief programmes and being booked by the police on various flimsy grounds. Our MPs and even ministers have been forced to go on home quarantine,” said BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh who sat outside his residence at Salt Lake in Kolkata, carrying posters.
In New Delhi, Union minister Babul Supriyo, Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, Lok Sabha MPs Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and Saumitra Khan and BJP’s co-observer for Bengal, Arvind Menon, sat on a demonstration on a lawn in Supriyo’s residence. They carried posters and were wearing face masks.