“People will come and ask for votes in Bengal but won’t give Oxygen!”: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

News Desk: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said she had expressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi her inability to supply Oxygen cylinders to other states at this hour of Covid-19 crisis.

“I wrote to the Prime Minister saying we can’t supply Oxygen (cylinders) now,” Banerjee said and added with a political connotation, “People (BJP) will come and ask for votes in Bengal but won’t give Oxygen!”

Banerjee’s comment came after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested the Prime Minister to facilitate the airlifting of oxygen from West Bengal and Odisha to resolve the gas crisis in the national capital.

The chief of ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal on Friday once again lashed out at her political foe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly spreading the virus in the state by bringing in people from other parts of the country.

Banerjee also attacked the poll body (Election Commission of India) for allegedly following the instructions of the BJP and not taking the Covid-19 situation seriously.

“What harm would have caused if the remaining phases of elections were clubbed?” Banerjee questioned.

The Chief Minister, who is seeking a third straight term in power, has once again ruled out any possibility of a lockdown in the state.

“There will be no lockdown. It only leads people to suffer. People should follow the norms and take precautions,” she said.

While the last two phases of the West Bengal assembly polls are scheduled to be held on Apr 26 and 29, the Election Commission on Thursday cancelled all roadshows and rallies with more than 500 people.

Both Banerjee and BJP’s chief campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi have switched to the virtual mode to campaign for their respective parties.