The face-off between Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal government and the Centre over a Covid team’s visit to the state is ill-timed. A pandemic is no time for politics but this episode shows the high level of distrust between the two. Both need to pull back and work together, even if temporarily.
MP’s Covid fight was compromised as Shivraj prioritised politics. Now he must make up for lost time
It is a pity that CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan inducted five ministers into his cabinet only after widespread criticism and an alarming rise in Madhya Pradesh’s Covid-19 infections. The delay compromised public health because he prioritised politics. Now he should compensate for lost time and focus on containing the infection-spread.
As an aside, another CM who is not rising to the Covid 19 challenge is Shri Nitish Kumar of Bihar. Fine column by Ms Swati Chaturvedi for NDTV. Beyond the election later this year and one more swearing in ceremony, he is leaving the state and its large contingent of stranded migrants largely to their own devices. When the building blocks of retaining power are in place, aur kya chahiye …
Not just the state’s response. The national response too was dictated by the calendar of political developments in Madhya Pradesh. The swearing in and then winning the vote of confidence. Organically linked to the prorogation of Parliament and then the edict for the national lockdown. Whether there are four ministers or forty is not really germane. A three time CM, who in any case brooked few political rivals in the state Cabinet, should have been on top of the situation from day one. He would in any case have been keeping tabs on the evolving situation while being the effective leader of the opposition. Indore, the state’s commercial capital, is looking ravaged.