BJP national Vice-President D K Aruna today demanded that the Telangana government immediately take steps to postpone the
upcoming local body elections, and cited the rapid spread of Covid-19 as her reason for asking for the postponement.
In a statement, she said, "There is no point in taking perforative measures such as reducing the campaign hours for the ULB elections since these measures will do precious little to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Holding any campaigns, regardless of the duration, is likely to expose both party workers and the public to the risk of contracting the deadly disease."
"It is alarming to see that the government has not already taken steps to call off the elections even though the number of cases has been rising at an alarming rate in the state. Yesterday, Telangana reported 6,542 new positives. This is a new high," the BJP leader added.
Aruna then urged Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to prioritise the health of the public over the upcoming elections, and to "take steps to improve the public health situation"
"The lives of the people and the political leaders in the state should both be protected by postponing the elections. If the number of cases continues to rise at the present rate, it might become difficult for the voters even to reach the polling booths. The Chief Minister should not see the postponement as a loss of prestige but as an important step in preventing the spread of Covid-19. The fact that the number of positive cases has risen sharply in Nagarjuna Sagar following the completion of the by-election there should be a warning," she added.
Many leaders have raised concerns about conducting the elections in the midst of the second wave of the ongoing pandemic. Three days ago, Congress leader Shabbir Ali had demanded that the Telangana SEC immediately postpone the April 30 elections in view of the pandemic situation.