Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to waive all forms of taxes and customs duty on equipment and drugs being used to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mamata also urged Modi to strengthen health infrastructure and augment supplies of equipment, medicines and oxygen for the treatment of coronavirus-positive patients.

"A large number of organisations, individuals and benevolent agencies have come forward to donate oxygen concentrators, cylinders, containers and Covid-related drugs.

"Many of the donors have approached the state government to consider exemption of these from customs duty, SGST, CGST, IGST," she said in the letter.

"As the rate structure falls under the purview of the central government, I would request that these items may be exempted from GST/customs duty and other such duties and taxes to help remove supply constraints of the above-mentioned life-saving drugs and equipment and contribute towards effective management of the Covid pandemic," Mamata said.

She has been attacking the Centre for "failing" to control the spread of the disease in the country.

On Saturday, Mamata blasted the BJP and its Centre of mismanaging the nation’s war efforts against the pandemic.

“For six months, they did nothing to prepare against Covid-19. They pushed the country to the brink of ruin in their desperation to conquer Bengal... All its honchos did not budge from Bengal,” she said. “Countless crores they spent...to maliciously influence the election. Had they spent that on vaccination instead, universal free immunisation would have happened by now,” she added.

“Around 140 crore Indians, for their universal, free immunisation, need around Rs 30,000 crore. To the Centre, that amount is nothing…. But they are spending Rs 50,000 crore instead on a new Parliament building, a new house for the Prime Minister,” Mamata said, addressing the Bengal Assembly.