Kolkata/New Delhi, June 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to interact with six chief ministers on Wednesday to discuss the coronavirus outbreak in the country. However, it is most unlikely that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would participate in the video call after being excluded from the speakers' list.
According to the reports, as per the truncated list, Mamata Banerjee would not be among the those six states who will speak on the video conference. The latest revision was circulated Monday where West Bengal's name was missing. Following this, the State CM was angry. PM Narendra Modi Asks States to Follow Punjab's COVID-19 Micro-Containment and House-to-House Surveillance Strategy.
Responding to the new changes in the truncated list for video call, Lok Sabha MP from Barasat Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, as NDTV quotes, "Why would you call our honourable Chief Minister for a VC (video conference) if you fear her so much that you can't even let her speak?" Similar reactions arrived from TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi and Urban State Development Minister Firhad Hakim.
It is to be known that Mamata Banerjee has yet not responded to the allegations made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in last week's virtual rally. In that virtual rally Shah has taunted the State CM by saying, "The name 'Corona Express' that you have given, Mamata didi, will become your exit route".
Meanwhile, the coronavirus tally in India crossed to 3.5 lakh-mark on Wednesday after record rise of 10,974 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that 2003 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported, taking the total death toll to 11,903. Apart from this, the ministry said that the total number of positive cases in the country now stands at 3,54,065, including 1,55,227 active cases, and 1,86,935 discharged.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 17, 2020 12:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).