New Delhi: Prime time debates Thursday ranged from the injury to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to the concerns over the surge of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra.
Mirror Now’s Tanvi Shukla talked about the rise of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra in the past 10 days, as well as in five to six other states. “Eight out of the top 10, or the worst-hit 10 districts — eight of those 10 are from the state of Maharashtra,” she said, adding that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has warned of a lockdown.
She asked the panel, “Could the geographical placement of the state also be a factor and climate conditions?”
Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force member Dr Om Shrivastav concurred that humidity and environmental factors are “hugely important”, but are yet to be backed by scientific evidence.
Dr Tatyarao Lahane, Director Of Medical Education And Research, Maharashtra, said, “Deaths in Maharashtra in March as compared to October are 10 times less… it may be some mutation… this virus is a mild virus.”
Meanwhile, Rajib Dasgupta, Chairperson, Centre of Social Medicine And Community Health, said, “This is not very unique. This has been the experience particularly in Western Europe.”
Also read: Mamata Banerjee urges to maintain peace, says would resume campaign on wheelchair if needed
CNN News18’s Marya Shakil turned to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is recovering in hospital after sustaining injuries in an alleged attack in Nandigram Wednesday.
“Now Mamata Banerjee will be back on the campaign trail on Saturday… but has this incident now led to a significant shift in the election narrative in Bengal? As Mamata’s street-fighter image gets bolstered, BJP’s ‘vikas’ narrative gets subdued?” Shakil asked.
“All this is going to generate a degree of sympathy but I believe at this time of electioneering, the battle lines are so clearly drawn that it’s unlikely that voters from the BJP or the Congress-Left will shift to the Trinamool [Congress],” said columnist Radhika Ramaseshan.
BJP spokesperson Dr Nikhil Prasun said videos and eyewitness accounts of the incident “it indicates that this was probably an accident”.
“The Bengal battle has only just warmed up,” said NewsX’s Megha Sharma, with a smile, as she considered the political implications of Mamata Banerjee’s injuries.
Political analyst S.K. Datta said the videos doing the rounds on social media “prima facie shows that this was an accident” due to “negligence”.
Sharma was a little shocked at the turn of events: “If this is (a) bloodbath in Bengal, God save the state”.
On NDTV India, anchor Ravish Kumar questioned the opposition parties which termed Mamata Banerjee’s leg injury as ‘drama’. Kumar said that those who talk about ‘new politics’ in Bengal are not saying anything new and civil while questioning Banerjee’s injuries.
Kumar said the leaders should have thought before throwing allegations at the CM. “If it was drama, she would not have been admitted to the hospital with a plaster,” he added. Kumar also noted that doctors have said she has ligament issues, adding that none of the big leaders including PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted and expressed their sympathies with the leader.
On ABP News, anchor Rubika Liyaquat asked if Lockdown 2.0 was going to make a comeback this year, as a lockdown has been imposed in Nagpur from 15 to 21 March. “This is the first time in the last five months in Maharashtra when so many cases are being reported in a single day,” she said.
Also read: Mamata visited 19 temples, 1 Muslim shrine in 28-hr Nandigram tour, before returning injured