Union home minister Amit Shah has written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee apparently pointing out shortcomings in Bengal’s attempts to tackle the migrant crisis, prompting the Trinamul Congress to allege that the Centre was trying to shift the blame to the states.

The BJP has been keen to politicise the pandemic crisis, especially in states like Bengal where gains are at stake because of impending elections.

Although Shah’s letter was not, unlike in the case of past missives from the Centre, made public, its core contents did the rounds on social media.

The following four key points of the letter have been circulated on social media, and several BJP leaders have vouched for their veracity:

⚫ The Centre has facilitated the homecoming of more than two lakh migrant workers

⚫ Migrant workers from Bengal are also eager to return home. The Centre has been trying to facilitate their return, but is not getting the support it expected from the state

⚫ The Bengal government is not allowing trains to reach the state

⚫ Injustice is being meted out to Bengal’s migrant workers, which will create further hardships for them.

Amid the rising counts of Covid-19 patients across the country, the plight of migrant labourers has taken centre-stage as questions are being raised on why Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 on a four-hour notice without any measures to cushion the vulnerable sections from the fallout.

The letter from Shah on Saturday made it clear that the BJP has decided to turn the tables on the states over the migrant labour issue.

“I have been studying him (Shah) closely for long. This is part of how he operates. He spreads division through promotion of bigotry and hatred. He goes quiet and withdraws from the scene when there are real questions to be answered. Then he seeks to confuse from behind the scene,” said the Trinamul Congress’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien.

Although Mamata has not commented publicly on Shah’s letter, the Trinamul communications team has issued statements.

Amit Shah File picture

“A HM (home minister) failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with bundle of lies!” tweeted Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata’s nephew.

“Ironically he’s talking about the very ppl who’ve been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr @AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise,” he added.

In the afternoon, Derek, Barasat MP Kakali Ghosh Dastidar and minister Rajib Banerjee held a news conference on behalf of the party, lambasting Shah and his government.

“It is part of your (Shah’s) DNA to play petty political games even during a national crisis such as this epidemic…. You already took a 45-day summer vacation and slept. Take 45 days more, if you like. Don’t do this,” said O’Brien.

The fact that the BJP narrative didn’t have many takers became clear when Trinamul’s arch-rival CPM, which has always alleged a secret understanding between the ruling parties in Bengal and at the Centre, virtually echoed Trinamul on Shah.

“There are many unforgivable lapses of the state government. One could go on and on about that…. But they (the Centre) know how badly they have messed up with the migrant workers. They are simply looking for others to blame,” said Left legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty.

“Because he sent this letter, we finally got to know the nation still has a home minister,” he added.

Central team

The Union health ministry will send teams to 10 states, including Bengal, that have witnessed or are witnessing large numbers of Covid-19 cases to assist their health departments in managing the outbreak.