Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee’s recent claims of a successful Diamond Harbour model to combat COVID-19 has raised uncomfortable questions for the government and the party.
Over the past few days, the party general secretary has been calling for increased testing and better COVID-19 management in the Diamond Harbour subdivision of the South 24 Parganas, a constituency he represents in the Lok Sabha.
On Wednesday, he shared on social media that more than 50,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the parliamentary constituency on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
“We promise to continue our efforts towards bringing down the positivity rate further, which is at 2.16%. We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to make Diamond Harbour PC #COVID free. Your well-being will always be our top priority!” the MP had said on social media. The case positivity rate in West Bengal on Wednesday was 30.86%, almost 14 times more than Diamond Harbour.
At a time when the government has agreed to go ahead with the Ganga Sagar Mela and the polls to four municipal corporations, Mr. Banerjee has been calling for a complete ban on religious and political meetings. “The situation is very bad across the country and there should be no religious or political meetings,” he said. Not only leaders from the TMC but prominent doctors and members of the civil society have lauded the MP for these efforts.
On Thursday, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh tried to dispel the controversy by saying it was not one model versus other.
“Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, the government is trying its hardest to combat the pandemic. The public representatives are always doing their level best in their own area. Diamond Harbor MP Abhishek Banerjee has started a fight against COVID-19 in his constituency. So, it is not one model versus other,” Mr. Ghosh told journalists.
The political parties in the Opposition did not miss the opportunity to target the TMC government. “ If the Diamond Harbor model is a success, then the State government model of tackling COVID-19 is a failure. So, if the nephew has passed then aunt has failed and the Mayor of Kolkata has failed miserably,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.
State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said if 50,000 tests can be conducted in Diamond Harbour, what fault have people from other parts of West Bengal done that they are being denied basic health infrastructure. State BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya also said the claims of success of the Diamond Harbour model points at the failure of the State government and is an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing crisis in the State.
After the 2021 Assembly polls, Mr. Banerjee has climbed to the top of the party hierarchy after Mamata Banerjee appointed him as the national general secretary of the party. Mr. Banerjee has been given charge of expanding the party’s base outside the State. The TMC MP’s recent comments, which appear to be at odds with the State government stand of allowing the Ganga Sagar Mela and going ahead with the civic polls, has raised eyebrows in political circles.
