Centre releasing lockdown circulars without considering states' position: Mamata Banerjee

On the Home Ministry order of allowing some shops in residential complexes to open, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said Central government is releasing circulars on lockdown without considering the position of states.

"Central government is releasing circulars all of a sudden. I don't have any problem with it but there must be some consultation. They should have asked the position of states," Banerjee said.

West Bengal Chief Minister believes there is a lack of clarity on the directives issued by the Central government.

"On one side they say lockdown should be strictly maintained on another hand they are saying to open all shops. What should we do? There is a lack of clarity between what Central government is saying and their directives," she added.

This comes after the Home Ministry said, "in urban areas, all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops, and shops in residential complexes are allowed to open. Shops in markets, market complexes, and shopping malls are not allowed to open."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier while interacting with Chief Ministers via video conference on the prevailing COVID-19 situation, had said, the lockdown has yielded positive results as the country has managed to save thousands of lives in the past one and a half months.

Banerjee had earlier decided to provide help to people of the state stranded in different parts of the country but expressed inability to provide quarantine facilities for "lakhs and lakhs of people".

( With inputs from ANI )