KOLKATA: BJP West Bengal leader Anupam Hazra, who made a controversial remark a few days ago saying that he would hug Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee if he tested positive for COVID-19, tested positive for the infection. After he tested positive for the infection, Hazra was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata. He had complained of uneasiness and was checked for coronavirus in his samples, the result of which returned positive, the officials said. Recently, he was elected National Secretary of the Safran Party.

The Trinamool Congress submitted a police complaint against Hazra following his controversial comment on Mamta for maligning a public figure who is a woman, thereby violating the Constitution.

"A bigger enemy than corona is being faced by our employees. They're fighting Mamata Banerjee. When they (BJP cadres) were able to combat it without a mask against Mamata Banerjee, they think they can also battle COVID-19 without wearing a mask," Hazra said. "I have decided that I will go and hug Mamata Banerjee if I get infected with the coronavirus," he said. The way the bodies of COVID-19 patients were cremated in the state was pathetic, said Hazra, a former Trinmool MP who joined the BJP last year.

Hazra, responding to the police complaint, said that Banerjee had also made a series of controversial statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "If my comments are demeaning, then Mamata Banerjee also made such comments against the prime minister. Second, if one FIR was filed against me, then there should be at least 10 FIRs filed against the leaders of the TMC," he said. Nevertheless, the state BJP leadership distanced itself from Hazra 's statement.

On October 1, after identification of new cases, the coronavirus count mounted to 2,60,324 in West Bengal. The overall number of COVID-19 patients who died was 5,017, while the number of active cases was 26,552.