Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was ridiculed on Thursday by state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, who wondered whether her government was being run by "ghosts", after she claimed not being involved in the formation of the controversial death audit committee that has been tasked with declaring whether a corona positive patient has died due to Covid-19.
"I was dumbstruck on hearing the chief minister say that she was not involved in the formation of the committee. The chief minister says she even doesn't know who all are in the panel. Then who is running the government? It must be a ghost. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made such a remark," Ghosh said.
The BJP leader said even for the most trivial work, the state government officers and ruling Trinamool Congress leaders take clearance from Banerjee.
"The committee comprises officers and some experts who are special people of the chief minister. And now she is feigning ignorance about the formation of the committee. That's indeed surprising," he said.
On Wednesday, Banerjee had claimed before the media that neither was she involved in the formation of the panel nor did she have any knowledge about its members.
"I didn't form the audit committee. I don't even know who all are it's members. The chief secretary and the departmental (health) secretary are the authorised persons," she said.
The opposition parties and a section of doctors have accused the Mamata Banerjee government of constituting the committee to suppress the death count in the state due to the viral disease.
The Inter-Ministerial Central Teams, now touring the state, have also raised a number of questions about the committee.