Bengal guv accuses CM of inflating data

West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday advised chief minister Mamata Banerjee not to place an exaggerated report to the Centre on the losses due to cyclone Amphan. He also said that the army could have been called in for the restoration works three days ago had the chief minister maintained contacts with him.

“Urge @Mamataofficial: Be in touch with Guv – had this been done army could have been called 3 days back,” Dhankhar wrote on Twitter. In another advice to CM, he wrote, “Share real loss @Pmoindia: Inflating figures is counter-productive.”

His tweets came after Banerjee said the estimated loss due to the cyclone was ₹1 lakh crore. Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi had approved ₹1,000 crore as assistance to the state government after an aerial survey Friday. After the aerial survey on

May 22, PM Modi had said that he had spoken to Banerjee and Dhankhar and had decided a detailed survey was needed.

Slamming governor, rulingtmc spokesperson Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a Lok Sabha MP, said, “It’s extremely unfortunate if the governor stoops too low, especially at the hour of such a crisis. I am especially shocked with his reaction because he himself accompanied PM Modi and the chief minister during the aerial survey of the affected areas. If he still thinks losses were not massive, we simply have nothing else to say,”

“The governor has voiced the concerns of the whole state of Bengal. People are apprehensive of corruption by the state administration because of the examples they had set on earlier occasions. The CM is only talking about money. Why is she seeking money only? The Centree needs to investigate every claim of the state government,” BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said.