New Delhi: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee hit out at the opposition parties for 'engaging in politics' while the country is battling a deadly pandemic and Bengal is still recovering from the havoc created by Cyclone Amphan.

The West Bengal Chief Minister alleged that BJP is planning to oust her government during the time of crisis.

"I really feel bad that when we are fighting against COVID-19 and Amphan and working to save lives, some political parties are asking to remove us. I never said that PM (Narendra) Modi should be removed from Delhi," she said. Also Read|Covid-19 Cases Cross 6.8 Million Mark Worldwide; Death Toll Reaches 3,98,071

While CM Mamata was speaking at the ‘re-greening Kol’ programme on the occasion of World Environment Day, she targetted the opposition and said, "Is this the time for engaging in politics? Where were they for the last three months? We were working on the ground. Bengal will win against both COVID and the conspiracy."

Banerjee's response comes after the Bengal BJP unit questioned the state government's claim that the state had suffered losses worth Rs 1 lakh crore because of Cyclone Amphan and alleged it was a ploy to "make money".

“This is a strategy to make money from these disasters. The CPI(M) had this disease earlier, now it has spread to the Trinamool Congress,” Ghosh alleged.

The BJP leader also mocked Mamata Banerjee's demand to declare the cyclone as a national disaster.

"There is nothing called a national disaster. The state government should just tell the centre the extent of the damage caused," he said.

War of words between the Trinamool Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party escalated after the latter launched its 2021 electoral campaign branded as ‘Aar Noi Mamata’, meaning no more Mamata and in essence calling for the toppling of the TMC regime next year in May.

BJP has also announced a series of ‘virtual rallies’ concerning five parts of the state. The first such ‘rally’, to be attended by party workers using mobile applications and broadcast live on social media, would be addressed by union home minister Amit Shah on June 9.

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