The Telangana Congress expressed concern over unconfirmed reports of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s health and said the government should give some clarity on it as people were anxious.
At a press conference here, TPCC Treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy said the Chief Minister was missing in action for the last 10 days and the last meeting he held at Pragathi Bhavan was on June 29. At least his son and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao should clarify as it was a democratic right of the people, he said, praying for the good health of the Chief Minister.
If no clarity comes, people are bound to think that the Chief Minister is deliberately staying away from public view to generate sympathy after their anger increased due to the poor management of COVID-19 issue, Mr. Reddy claimed. With coronavirus positive cases increasing rapidly and people unsatisfied with the facilities at the government hospitals and private hospitals literally fleecing the people, it was time the CM came out and gave confidence to the people, he said.
He said the coronavirus infection was causing shortage of oxygen in blood supply which was leading to heart attacks. However, the doctors in government hospitals were apparently given instructions that they should not declare such deaths as COVID-19 deaths. The Congress leader said that neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has conducted more than 11 lakh COVID-19 tests so far while the Telangana government tested a little over 1.25 lakh people.
Mr. Narayana Reddy also slammed the pace at which the old Secretariat building was demolished. “Why are you in a hurry? We are all facing a deadly pandemic across the globe. Why do you want to waste public money on something else than spending the same to save people’s lives?” he asked.
‘Mind your language’
Meanwhile, AICC secretary and former MLA A. Sampath Kumar has warned the Telangana Ministers on the language being used against the Congress leaders, including the TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy for questioning the government on its ‘failures’.
Forgetting their responsibility of answering to questions, they are indulging in cheap talk and it was unfortunate that the Ministers who never participated in the Telangana movement were asking Congressmen about their loyalty to Telangana’s cause, he said, while speaking to reporters here.
The government that failed to provide funds for COVID-19 treatment wants to spend ₹ 500 crore for a new Secretariat after demolishing the present one is being questioned by the people, he said, adding that as an Opposition party Congress will raise the issue. “It is not the Congress but the TRS government that has become venomous against its own people,” he said.
Mr. Sampath said the Ministers were blindly justifying the Secretariat demolition to support the Chief Minister’s family’s Vastu beliefs. “Why didn’t they show the same urgency in creating hospitals and medical facilities as in demolishing the Secretariat, he asked. “The government is afraid that the Congress would approach the Supreme Court,” he said.
He said Section 8 is a part of Telangana’s creation and they were asking it to be implemented only because it is in the law. “It is the TRS that doesn’t believe in the Law or Constitution and the defections of Congress MLAs also reflect its attitude,” he alleged.
He said the Ministers should have the courage to reject rumours on the Chief Minister’s health conditions rather than showing their frustration on the Congress.
