The Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president S. Sailajanath on Saturday found fault with the registration of a complaint against the TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu on the charge that he was creating fear among the people of Kurnool by saying that the N440K coronavirus strain was still prevalent and was deadly as compared to other strains.
In a statement, the Congress leader said filing of an FIR against the Opposition TDP leader was tantamount to a breach of the order of the Supreme Court which had made an observation that cases cannot be booked based on criticism by political leaders and that the ruling governments should use the constructive criticism to plug the loopholes in the system.
Mr. Sailajanath accused the YSRCP government of resorting to ‘politics of vendetta’.
Turning the heat on the Centre, he said it had failed to protect the lives of people who had contracted the virus. “Leaving the youth out of the inoculation drive can prove to be disastrous as many young people are succumbing to the infection in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Mr. Sailajanath demanded that the Centre release the vaccine to the State on a war-footing and the State government, if the need arose, should not hesitate to spend ₹1,600 crore for purchase of the vaccine and protect the lives of the people.
There were nearly 2.04 crore people in the 18-45 age group in the State who would need 4 crore doses of the vaccine. The State should leave no stone unturned to procure them, he said.
Reaching out
Earlier, in a video conference with the party leaders, he said the COVID scenario in the State was dismal and people’s confidence level was at its lowest thanks to the failure of the government to educate and initiate effective measures to alleviate their woes.
He said the district-level committees established by the party had been reaching out to the virus-affected people with relevant information and facilities at some places. In some districts, the party had arranged ambulance services and it would soon extend the facility to other districts, he said.