At a time when West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders sharpened attacks at the Centre and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Covid-19 death toll touched 79, up by 7 on Thursday, amid reports of 92 fresh cases in the last 24 hours.
With this, the total count of coronavirus infected people in the state reached 1,548. Of this, 1,101 are undergoing treatments at various hospitals.
Fresh cases were reported during the day in four districts, including Howrah, East Midnapore and Birbhum.
"The Centre is constantly shooting letters to the state government to malign its image during the pandemic. We don't want any letter-war at this juncture. We want to fight this public health crisis unitedly with everyone. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre has severely insulted the people of Bengal with its repeated criticism about the state administration," Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee said.
Banerjee said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier convened an all-party meeting to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, which showed the government's willingness to fight this crisis jointly.
"Public health is our utmost priority as people are dying. The Centre had sent faulty kit. They have also opened the international border for trade. What will happen if the infection increases? Who will take that responsibility" the Minister said, condemning the role of the Governor for insulting the residents of Bengal.
Meanwhile, the number of containments zones only in the state capital Kolkata climbed to 334 from 316 with a large part of central Kolkata being the worst affected.
( With inputs from IANS )