'IMCT's visit served no purpose, only spread political virus': TMC's Derek O'Brien

The ongoing scuffle between West Bengal state government and the Centre reached new heights on Saturday as TMC leader Derek O'Brien shunned the Inter-Ministerial Central Team's (IMCT) visit to the state and remarked that it served 'absolutely no purpose.' Leader of the ruling party in Bengal, O'Brien alleged that the IMCT visited places for assessment which were not hotspots and declared those places as a hotspot where there have been no cases in the past 2-3 weeks. He also labelled the IMCT as 'India's Most Callous Team' and 'I Must Cause Trouble (in Bengal)'

The Rajya Sabha MP remarked that the IMCT's purpose to visit Bengal was to spread 'political virus' in the state. 

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In a video posted on Twitter, the TMC leader said, 'Three hours after they arrived, the Home Minister called the Chief Minister. You can imagine what was going on here. Their visit served absolutely no purpose because they went to areas where there were no hotspots. They declared areas, where the last case was held, was two-three weeks ago. So this was basically, they came there to spread the political virus. Absolutely spreading the political virus on behalf of the Government of India. They did it shamelessly, they did it blatantly. What do you call them - India's Most Callous Team that is IMCT or I Must Cause Trouble (in Bengal).'

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IMCT writes to WB Chief Secy

Earlier in the day, the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) wrote to the state Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha on Saturday. In a 6-point letter to Sinha, IMCT leader Apurva Chandra made mention of Sinha's ignorance to accompany the IMCT for field visits which stands as a violation to the Home Ministry's order. Chandra also flagged that four letters that have been written to the state government since the IMCT's arrival and no response to those have been received till date.  

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Through the letter, Chandra has also demanded that the state government clarifies its stand on facilitating the visits of the IMCT and ensuring the safety and security of the team members as also providing information and records to be made clear through written communication. 

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Derek O'Brien