DRAWING THE LINE

On April 20, the standoff between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, over its implementation of the national lockdown, reached snapping point when two inter-ministerial central teams (IMCTs) arrived in the state for a review at the behest of the ministry of home affairs (MHA).

- Romita Datta

They had come at very short notice—West Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha was reportedly informed an hour before they landed, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received an official call from the MHA after the fact. Predictably, the IMCTs received a chilly welcome, with state officials allegedly refusing to cooperate at first.

The two administrations have been steadily upping the ante since end-March or even earlier, with the Mamata Banerjee government seemingly going out of its way to sidestep or flout central decrees and the Narendra Modi government issuing a series of threatening orders via the MHA. At the heart of the matter is the rivalry between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The BJP is the principal contender against the TMC in the 2021 assembly election, and if the 2019 Lok Sabha result is anything to go by, the two are neck-and-neck in the polls. Neither can afford to look weak or allow the other to be seen as dominant. The worry is that the stakes in this pandemic are simply too high for partisan bickering.

A STEADY BREW

The eye-to-eye ‘disagreement’ has a context and a build-up over the past few weeks. After the Modi government declared a national lockdown, beginning March 25, Indians across the country saw their social, religious and economic lives brought to an abrupt halt. Stepping out of one’s home required an officially approved reason—say, the purchase of groceries or medicines. Religious gatherings were completely prohibited, and stores selling non-essential goods were closed. However, translating this decree from paper to practice was the job of state and local administrations.