West Bengal govt convenes all-party meet on coronavirus situation

The West Bengal government has convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday to discuss the coronavirus situation in the state, a senior minister said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will preside over the meeting, which is likely to be attended by leaders of all political parties having representation in the state assembly, the minister said on Monday.

The meeting will be held at the state secretariat Nabanna on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaker Biman Banerjee will also be present in the meeting, he said.

"Apart from the coronavirus-related situation, discussions will also be held on the lockdown in the state. Some political parties have been asking for an all-party meet, so it has been decided to hold one such meet where exchange of views can take place," he added.

The West Bengal government had convened a similar meeting to hold discussions on the pandemic in March just after the nationwide lockdown began.

Total 555 people infected by the coronavirus died in the state till Sunday, while the positive case tally reached 13,531, according to the health department.

The state government has been facing flak from the opposition over the alleged mishandling of the outbreak, which the ruling party has rubbished as baseless.