Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have clashed in the past (archive)
Calcutta:
Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar today asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a report on an investigation he ordered in August into Rs 2 billion corruption allegations in connection with the purchase of equipment related to the pandemic. of Covid.
“I am anxious to know what happened to that investigation. What is the report? What was the basis on which an investigation was ordered into the purchase of pandemic equipment? Who investigated it? Who was investigated? Who were the beneficiaries of the one-time bid or Was it a wrestling match for everyone? ”asked Dhankhar.
“If people can create an opportunity to make money during a pandemic, we are embarrassing our civilization and our system. The report must be made public,” he said.
The Governor spoke at a ceremony held this morning at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), which is in charge of the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research, which is the center’s nodal organ in this health crisis).
ICMR-NICED is part of the network of a dozen medical facilities and research institutions across the country that launched Phase 3 trials for the Covaxin coronavirus vaccine, which has been described as the first locally developed candidate vaccine against the virus. .
The governor’s comment received a quick response from Trinanmool Minister Firhad Hakim, who went to ICMR-NICED later that day to volunteer for the trial and was given a dose.
“This is not the place to raise such questions. If the governor did it, he was wrong,” he said.
However, the BJP has backed Dhankhar.
At a press meeting tonight, BJP Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh said: “Cillions of rupees were spent buying masks and disinfectants from companies belonging to Trinamool cronies. The truth must come out.”
“The Honorable Chief Minister set up a committee for the purchase of equipment related to the pandemic. That was done in August … the 2 billion rupee pandemic purchases were reported to be suffering from serious failures, patronage (and) corruption. Therefore , the Chief Minister thought it prudent to form a committee, “said Governor Dhankhar.
And he added: “Your governor pointed out that those who are dedicated to leading these indiscretions, how can they be investigators. I wrote to the government. Those who are going to be investigated cannot be investigators themselves.”
Dhankhar also criticized the Bengal government for refusing to implement Ayushman Bharat, the central government’s flagship health insurance scheme (something the BJP has repeatedly pointed out ahead of next year’s Assembly elections) in the state.
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