West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, said the BJP is not ready to accept her mandate and accused the saffron party of inciting violence in the state.
BJP leaders are roaming around in the state, provoking violence, she said, adding, "It is not even 24 hours of the new government, they are sending letters, teams and leaders are coming. They are actually not ready to accept the mandate. I request them to accept people's mandate," reports news agency ANI.
A four-member fact-finding team of the Union home ministry, tasked with looking into reasons for the post-poll violence in West Bengal, had arrived in the state on Thursday. The team, which will also assess the ground situation in the state, is likely to visit several areas in the city as well as South 24 Parganas, Godkhali, Sunderbans and Jaggadal.
The chief minister said 16 people have died in the post-poll violence in the state, half of who are from the TMC and others from the BJP. The families of those who were killed in the violence will be given Rs 2 lakh each without discrimination, she added.
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Speaking about the COVID-19 crisis in the state, the chief minister sought to know where the PM CARES fund has gone. She asked the BJP leaders to visit COVID-19 hospitals instead of roaming around and spreading the pandemic.
She said she hasn't yet received any response from the Centre over the issue of free vaccination. "Why are they not allotting Rs 30,000 crore for vaccines when they are making new Parliament and statues, spending Rs 20,000 crore," she asked.
She said if Central ministers come, they too will have to produce RT-PCR certificate even if they are coming by special flights. "The rule should be the same for all. COVID-19 is increasing because of BJP leaders coming here often."
—With PTI inputs
