Mamata urges oppn leaders to unite to fight COVID-19 outbreak

As West Bengal reported its first Covid-19 death on Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged political parties to keep aside their differences and join hands in raising awareness on the coronavirus outbreak.

During an all-party meeting here, she also said the state needed more testing kits and requested BJP leaders to take up the matter with the Centre.

The chief minister, who earned accolades from leaders cutting across party lines for leading the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, asserted that there would be no dearth of foodgrains and essential items in the wake of the crisis.

"I have requested the Centre to send more kits. We do not have an adequate number of kits," she told Congress leader Abdul Mannan, when he suggested involving municipalities and panchayats for carrying out COVID-19 tests at public places across the state.

Talking to state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Jai Prakash Majumder and Sayantan Basu, Banerjee said, "Had we been provided with the Cyclone Bulbul package, it would have come handy in this situation."