Congress Slams KCR Declaring 21 Districts Corona Free

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed shock over Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's decision to declare 21 districts as coronavirus-free without even conducting the adequate number of tests.

Addressing a meeting at Tappachabutra in the Karwan constituency after distributing food and other essential commodities among poor people on Tuesday, Reddy said, "The state government is not conducting tests on the secondary contacts of those found positive for Covid-19. There are many complaints that people without any travel history are not being tested although they have visible symptoms of the coronavirus. And testing for asymptomatic persons has reportedly been stopped long back. Without conducting enough tests for suspects, is it fair for the state government to declare a district coronavirus-free?"

He said that recently a woman journalist was initially refused Covid-19 tests although she had symptoms. She was reportedly told that she was young and that her body could fight the virus. He alleged that thousands more such people with Covid-19 symptoms were being turned away.

"This is complete mishandling of the coronavirus situation by the Chief Minister. He should clarify why the state government is so reluctant to conduct tests. Is it due to lack of funds, lack of testing kits or the courage to face reality?" he asked.

The TPCC chief said that any negligence in handling the coronavirus would prove fatal for the entire population. "If the Chief Minister is fully confident that 21 districts in Telangana will be corona-free, then he should also announce a lifting of the lockdown in those districts. And he should give a guarantee that there will be no recurrence of the coronavirus in these districts. There will be zero cases if you don't test anyone. But that's not the right approach," he said.

Reddy advised KCR not to act like a medical expert. "KCR initially described corona as a normal flu. He claimed that it could be treated with a paracetamol. He even predicted that the virus will die in temperatures above 22 degrees Celsius. He was proved wrong on all counts. Therefore the Chief Minister should not go for self-certification on this highly sensitive issue," he said. "An independent agency, comprising of experts from the field of science and medicine, should certify whether or not an area is free from the coronavirus."

Speaking about the relief measures, Reddy said that except for 12 kg rice per person and Rs 1,500 for families with white ration cards, the Telangana government did not help anyone. "There is nothing for the middle classes, the salaried classes or other tax payers.?Lakhs of people have lost their jobs due to the lockdown. The KCR government did not even assess the damages or losses caused due to lockdown. The state government should immediately start implementing the promised unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016 per month," he demanded.