Opposition parties have sought to corner West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her recent visit to Spain and the United Arab Emirates and alleged that she was ignorant of the plight of the people amid the spread of dengue cases in the state.

Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said on Monday that the government was apathetic to the pain of the people despite being warned ahead of time about the spread of dengue cases in the state.

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“We had already warned the state government about the rampant spread of dengue during August-September. This is due to the ignorance of the government towards the common people. They can go to Spain but cannot understand the pain of people here,” Chowdhury said.

Mamata returned from a 12-day trip to Spain and UAE on Saturday. “Back to Kolkata with serious offers for investments and partnerships from Spain and Dubai. Follow-up overseas delegations will come shortly and during BGBS in November for carrying forward what we started,” the CM wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

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However, Opposition leaders have now demanded that the government furnish a detailed account of expenses incurred on what they have termed as a “personal, leisure trip”.

“This was not an industry or investment-scouting tour. It was for your personal enjoyment, merriment, luxury, and revelry abroad. For which the people of Bengal had to pay. We demand to know exactly how much was spent,” Chowdhury told the media.

“People want details of concrete, tangible investment commitments and industry proposals from Spain and the UAE, not statements issued there by people taken from here.”

BJP leader and leader of the Opposition in Bengal Suvendu Adhikari also issued a statement critical of her trip to woo investors to visit the Bengal Global Business Summit here in November.

“While the dengue situation escalated to epidemic proportions in Bengal, the chief minister left for holidaying abroad, with her entourage. She has returned after a predictably fruitless visit,” Adhikari posted on Twiiter on Sunday.

CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty also alleged that the sum “wasted” on Mamata’s trip was Rs 20 crore. “It was a personal trip in the garb of an official visit,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mamata visited the SSKM Hospital for a check-up on Sunday evening a day after her return where an MRI was conducted oj her, reported The Telegraph. The report cited hospital authorities as saying that the CM suffered an injury to her already-injured left knee last week during her trip.