The Union home ministry has sent an advisory to the Bengal government “urgently” seeking a report on the strike by doctors, mentioning that concerns had been raised across the country on the safety and security of medical practitioners.

“This ministry is in receipt of a number of representations from doctors, healthcare professionals and medical associations from different parts of the country on their safety and security in view of the ongoing strike by doctors in West Bengal. It is requested that a detailed report be sent urgently on the representations and the ongoing strike by the doctors,” a home ministry source quoted from the advisory.

Sources in the Amit Shah-led Union home ministry said such an advisory was unusual. The ministry does send advisories if it feels that the law and order situation in a state has deteriorated, but an issue like a doctors’ strike has rarely been the topic of its note.

The home ministry has also sought a report on the measures the Bengal government has taken to contain political violence and the status of the probes into the flare-ups.

Asked about the twin advisories, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said it was a routine affair, pointed to the alleged failure of the Centre in carrying out its duties in states and suggested that it should send advisories to states like Uttar Pradesh where encounter killings were frequent.

The home ministry advisory on violence has pointed to the purportedly growing number of incidents of election-related and political flare-ups and the casualties from 2016 to 2019.

“Unabated violence over the years is evidently a matter of deep concern,” the source quoted from the advisory.

According to the advisory, instances of political violence in Bengal had increased from 509 in 2016 to 1,035 in 2018. It claimed that 773 such incidents had taken place in 2019 so far. The death toll had risen from 36 in 2016 to 96 in 2018, according to the home ministry. Twenty-six deaths had taken place till date in 2019, it added.

“The continued trend of political violence from 2016 through 2019, as evident from the above figures, is indicative of the failure on the part of the law enforcement machinery of the state to maintain the rule of law and to inspire a sense of security among the people. The government of India is seriously concerned about the prevalent situation in West Bengal,” the advisory said.

Union government sources said it was strange that the home ministry maintained data on “political violence” in Bengal and wondered if it collected such information from other states as well.

Mamata said such advisories were “sent to all states on a regular basis”.

“In a democratic system, such agitations take place. The state governments handle all important issues such as law and order, health, education and the public distribution system. The Centre handles only some issues like border-related affairs, which it cannot do properly as infiltration is a regular problem,” the chief minister said.

“The Centre should first properly do whatever it is supposed to do and then send advisories to states,” Mamata added.

On the advisory on law and order, Mamata said: “The law-and-order situation is not bad at all in Bengal. The Centre should send advisories to UP first as so many people have been killed in encounters since Yogi Adityanath became chief minister. The Centre should also send advisories to Gujarat, where people are prevented from registering complaints in police stations.”