CENTRE SENDS FACT-FINDING TEAM TO ASSESS BENGAL VIOLENCE

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Thursday sent a fourmember fact-finding team to West Bengal as post-poll violence continued to roil the state and a Union minister alleged his convoy was attacked by Trinamool Congress workers.

In Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that 16 people from the Bharatiya Janata Party, TMC and Sanyukta Morcha died in clashes, which began soon after her party won a thumping victory in assembly elections on Sunday. She accused BJP leaders of provocation. MHA also sought a detailed report from governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on the current situation in Bengal. The four-member team left for Bengal early on Thursday. Union minister of state V Muraleedharan alleged TMC goons attacked his convoy in West Midnapore, broke windows, attacked personal staff. Cutting short my trip,” he tweeted.

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday moved Supreme Court against a Karnataka high court order, directing it to immediately increase the supply of medical oxygen to the state from 962 metric tonnes (MT) per day to 1,200 MT per day in view of the spurt in the number of active Covid-19 cases. According to the petition, such a direction by the high court will “have a cascading effect and result in the total collapse of the system in its fight against the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 Coronavirus.”

A bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and MR Shah will hear the Union government’s appeal on Friday along with a plea to stay the operation of the high court order issued on May 5. “We have filed an appeal against the order passed a day ago. We are seeking a stay on the interim order on allocation,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said. Expressing shock over the Centre’s move, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar tweeted: “Will CM @BSYBJP & BJP MPs remain mute spectators when people are dying of Oxygen shortage?”