Global Covid panel served no purpose; close it down: BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta to Mamata

Kolkata, May 6 () BJP Rajya Sabha MP SwapanDasgupta on Wednesday wrote to West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee to close down a global panel set up last monthto advise her government in reviving the economy post-lockdown, claiming that it has not served any real purpose.

The state government ran advertisements on newspapersand digital media "trumpeting" the formation of the GlobalAdvisory Board at the cost of the state exchequer in the"present trying times", he said in the letter.

Wondering whether the Global Advisory Board,comprising experts from different fields from the world overincluding Nobel Laureate economist Abhijit Banerjee, has meteven once, even through video conference, Dasgupta asked thechief minister to wind up the panel.

The journalist-turned-politician said that people wereanxious to know about the functioning of the Board as "publicmoney has been spent on its constitution and propagationthrough expensive advertisements".

Alleging that it has so far served no real purpose,Dasgupta said, "It is perhaps time to unwind the GlobalAdvisory Board and focus on real issues which can help thepeople of West Bengal feel assured that they will be protectedagainst the pandemic."

"To chalk out a future roadmap on how to revive theeconomy and help the downtrodden and develop healthinfrastructure, we have set up a Global Advisory Board to formthe COVID-19 response policy in the state," the chief ministerhad said on April 6.

Besides the Indian-origin economist, other experts inthe fields of medicine, economy and public health would bepart of the Board, she had said. AMRNN NN