Mamata govt can't be blamed for crib death: BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal cannot be blamed for the death of 40 new-borns allegedly due to negligence in the state's hospitals in the last one week and sought to put all the blame on the previous communist dispensation.

Asked about its reaction to the death of newborns in West Bengal allegedly due to negligence of the hospital staff, BJP said the present government could not be blamed for it.

"For 30 years, there was a Communist regime in West Bengal. The primary health care system in the state has collapsed," BJP spokesperson Jagat Prakash Nadda said in reply to a question.

"We are hopeful things will improve under Mamata Banerjee," he added.

When it was pointed out that these deaths were reportedly caused not due to lack of facilities but more due to the fault of the doctors, Nadda said things were likely to improve under Mamata Banerjee government.

While BJP never loses an opportunity to attack Trinamool ally Congress, it appears to be soft towards Mamata Banerjee-led party.

BJP sources said the approach may be guided by the policy of keeping its options open for winning new allies in future.

When BJP leader L K Advani's yatra was going through Kolkata, he had expressed surprise at Mamata Banerjee's silence over rising corruption in the UPA-II government.