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The Central and West Bengal governments were involved in another dispute over the repatriation of residents on Thursday, and the Foreign Ministry said the state had not confirmed whether it had organized quarantine facilities to receive people wishing to return from abroad.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava tweeted that flights to repatriate West Bengal residents from abroad as part of the Vande Bharat Mission could be arranged if the state government confirms that it has arranged quarantine facilities for them.
Srivastava was responding to a tweet from West Bengal’s higher education minister, Partha Chatterjee, who published a timeline of the flights that were organized during the second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission and asked why there were no flights to the state.
The government is organizing 149 flights from more than 30 countries in the second phase of the mass repatriation program to bring back some 32,000 people to more than a dozen states. West Bengal is not among the states.
“Is the MEA asking us to believe that there are enough people to come from Georgia to Gujarat but none want to come to Kolkata? Also, are there enough people to return to Bihar from Kyrgyzstan but not enough to return to Bengal? Stop this injustice! Chatterjee tweeted.
Is the MEA asking us to believe that there are enough people to come from Georgia to Gujrat but none want to come to Kolkata?
Also, are there enough people to return to Bihar from Kyrgyzstan but not enough to return to Bengal?
Stop this injustice!#MithyebadiBJP pic.twitter.com/NbpEFWw646
– Partha Chatterjee (@itspcofficial) May 14, 2020
Srivastava responded by tweeting: “MEA does not discriminate between states. GOI’s Vande Bharat mission is for all stranded Indians, including those in West Bengal. More than 3,700 of them have registered for repatriation from different parts of the world. “
He added in another tweet: “I will gladly facilitate flights to Calcutta if the state government confirms arrangements to receive and quarantine.” It will also help BM residents in exchange across land borders with neighbors. We hope to receive a prompt response in this regard. ”
MEA does not discriminate between states. GOI’s Vande Bharat mission is for all stranded Indians, including those in West Bengal. More than 3,700 of them have been registered for repatriation from different parts of the world. (1/2)@MoCA_GoI @HomeSecretaryWB https://t.co/CEzU0rCAnM
– Anurag Srivastava (@MEAIndia) May 14, 2020
There was no immediate response from the ruling Trinamool Congress party in West Bengal or its leaders.
In recent days, the governments of Central and West Bengal have been busy arranging special trains to bring state migrant workers back from other parts of the country. The Union Interior Ministry said it was not receiving support from the West Bengal government to help migrant workers return home, and Trinamool congressional leaders dismissed the charge.
An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which visited West Bengal to assess the Covid-19 situation, said there were discrepancies in case reporting in the state. In its final report submitted to the West Bengal government, the IMCT also raised questions about the state’s claim that it had surveyed 50 lakh people.
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