It is a known secret that Amit Shah has been the mastermind behind in hatching the conspiracy against the state and sending the team to collect evidences which he could use as the perfect proof. It is his exasperation that has turned the members of the central team desperate and in the process they are even crossing the limits of decency in coercing local bureaucrats.

The leader from Gujarat has been so obsessed with his mission that even the worsening corona condition of his home state and a public condemnation of his action has failed to restrain him. While in West Bengal as on April 28 around 697 confirmed cases, including 568 active cases, 20 deaths and 109 recoveries as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, have been reported, Gujarat has attained the dubious distinction of being the second worst corona affected state.

The tally of patients in Gujarat grew to 3,301 after 230 new cases were reported on Sunday, while the count of deaths due to the infection reached 151 with the addition of 18 fatalities. In Gujarat, Ahmedabad alone has reported 104 deaths. Another state reporting dangerous rise in deaths is Madhya Pradesh, yet another BJP ruled state. Astonishingly its health minister Narottam Mishra has been accused of violating the guidelines of social distancing.

The US President Donald Trump had visited the state in the middle of February, by that time Corona had already hit India, with hundreds of thousands of people being forced to line up on road to welcome him. More than one lakh people had gathered at the stadium where Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the crowd jointly.

While Amit Shah is least bothered of the miseries of the people in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the central team is busy “building” their case in Bengal. In their euphoria they also tend to ignore that country is watching them and their political masters with utter contempt and disbelieve.

Revulsion of the Union government towards Mamata Banerjee could be gauged from the fact that she was not allowed to speak her mind at the Prime Minister’s videoconference with the chief ministers. She said that she had sat in the meeting for three hours, only listening. “We were not allowed to say anything. We sat quietly, idly. Three hours, we only listened. Of course, the smaller states should be allowed to speak, but the bigger states, suffering a great deal, their opinion should have been sought,” she said.

Mamata Banerjee is unhappy with the Central teams. Nevertheless she nurses the view that it is the part of the design to malign her and destabilise her government. The two teams continue with their visits, mostly to markets and containment zones in Calcutta and Howrah and tea gardens on the outskirts of Siliguri.

Meanwhile the team stationed in Calcutta has sent four letters to the government asking an entire gamut of clarifications while the Siliguri sought replies to 36-odd questions in a communication on Saturday. Their entire approach gives the impression as if they are interrogating the criminals.

In their communications to the chief secretary, the teams have raised issues like the reason of forming an audit committee to assess the actual cause of death for a Covid positive patient, lack of ventilators, chaotic situation in M. R. Bangur Hospital and delay in getting test results for the suspects kept at the isolation wards.

Amid the whispers on their style of functioning and enquiry questions have surfaced in the political circle that whether Modi government is working on the plan to dismiss the Mamata government on the alleged ground of its failure to tackle the crisis? It is also being asked: Does the Union government plan to take over the administration of the state citing the ‘apparent loopholes’ in state’s battle against the pandemic?

Amit Shah is ready with the blue print is also manifest in the leak of the letters written by the team leaders to the state’s Chief Secretary. Shockingly even before the letters land on the table of the state officials, they find their way on the social media. Several officials raised questions as to how the letters sent to the chief secretary by the IMCTs were going viral on social media within a few minutes of them reaching Nabanna. Officers feel this is a deliberate attempt to malign Mamata and her government and this must not have happened without the approval of the two senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and Vijay Verghese. “This is unusual as communications between two officers are not to be made to public. There is definitely a design,” said another official.

The centre has prepared a well chalked out strategy against Mamata is also manifest in the moves of the Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. Suddenly he opened front against her. On Friday he accused Mamata of appeasing the minority community. Really disgraceful. This is the worst thing to have happened in West Bengal. How could a constitutional authority utter this which was against the basic tenet of the Constitution? He was Constitution. He was reiterating the political narrative that the BJP has used against her.

In his 14 page letter to Mamata he wrote; “Your appeasement of the minority community was so explicit and awkward that as regards a question about the Nizamuddin Markaz incident by a journalist, your reaction was ‘Do not ask communal questions’. This is most unfortunate and cannot be appreciated. You will appreciate that a perpetrator can never position as victim”.

Mamata had said communalisation of the Nizamuddin Markaz congregation was “condemnable”. The content of the letter makes it clear that the governor is parroting the BJP narrative despite holding a Constitutional post. While she is busy handling the pandemic Dhankar has launched the machination to malign her. He even accused her of “abject failure” in dealing with the Covid-19 situation in the state.

While interacting with the chief ministers of the states, Modi tried to come clean and present the picture that his government was agile to the situation and making efforts to protect the lives of the people. Ironically he did not give credit to the states for their committed fights and achievements. The reason for Mamata not being allowed to speak at the teleconference was simple; she may put some uncomfortable questions to Modi on his handling of the crisis and the design behind sending the Central team to her state.

The coronavirus has slipped into 52 new districts across the country over the past 10 days. The number of affected districts had increased to 429 on Sunday from 377 districts — 170 hotspots and 207 with fewer cases — listed by the Union health ministry on April 15. The health ministry on Sunday recorded 1,975 new corona cases — a fresh highest-ever overnight spike — raising the total number of patients on Sunday to 26,917. Ironically neither Modi nor Shah are concerned of this increase.

Keeping in view the federal character of the country Modi should have unfolded his plan to the chief ministers and sought their advices on how to combat the impending crisis that was acquiring an frightening character. Some states put their views but shockingly as on earlier occasions, this time too Modi kept his strategy close to his heart. His approach gave the impression that he did not desire to give any credit to the chief ministers by sharing his plan with them.

In a federal set up it is imperative that the states must know the broader outline of such measures. But sad enough Modi has not been resorting to a transparent method. It was his personal whim that dictated the course of action. The scenario that India witnessed during the first fortnight of the lockdown was even worse than the plight of the people after the 1947 partition.

Even today thousands of ill-fated labourers and students (boys and girls) are stranded. They are not sure when they will be able to meet their family members and parents. While the Modi government and its allies and well-wishers are not tired of heaping praise on the prime minister, and some even go to the extent of claiming that his imposition of lockdown has saved lives else India could have had over 100,000 Covid-19 cases by now instead of under 30,000 the fact remains that the dreaded disease has been on increase. (IPA Service)