TPCC chief and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy today demanded in a memorandum that a universal free vaccination program be taken up in Telangana immediately to "save" the people of the state from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
He, along with fellow party leaders Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, A Revanth Reddy, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Ponnam Prabhakar, submitted a memorandum containing this demand to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Addressing the media on the matter, Uttam Kumar Reddy severely criticised both the Centre and the TRS-led state government for their "inability" to control the pandemic. He slammed the Modi regime for "abdicating its duty" of protecting its people, and its "criminal mismanagement" of the health crisis.
Talking about the memorandum, he explained that the party had used it to inform the Governor about "the failure of the powers that be" in controlling the spread of Covid-19 in Telangana and the rest of the country. He said that apart from the devastating impact the pandemic was having on public health, its continued spread was also impacting the Indian economy negatively.
"Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has failed to control the pandemic in our state as PM Modi has in the country. KCR was unable to take steps to prepare the state's health sector to handle the outbreak. Though we complained about his lackadaisical approach towards controlling the pandemic to the Governor about 15 months ago, there was no change in his attitude. At least now, he should be more proactive and should immediately work on vaccinating the people of the state. He must also include the treatment of Covid-19 in the Arogyasri healthcare scheme," the leader demanded.
He pointed out that vaccinating people was the way to curb the spread of the disease, and demanded that all those above 18 be immunised for free.
"To meet the target of vaccinating all the adults in India by December 31, a total of one crore persons must be vaccinated every day. At the present pace of vaccination, it will take about three years to achieve the target of vaccinating every Indian adult. The pace of vaccinations must go up if we are to defeat the pandemic. The current rates of vaccination are far too low. This issue must be rectified by both the Centre and the state government," Reddy said.
The other demands of the Congress include that all Covid-19 and black fungus patients receive free treatment at private hospitals, that journalists be identified as front-line warriors, and that a comprehensive welfare plan be devised for the children orphaned by the pandemic.
Yesterday, the party's high command had communicated that
a Satyagraha Deeksha would be held at the Gandhi Bhavan and across the various DCC offices on June 7, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, to demand that free treatment be provided to Covid-19 and black fungus patients at the private hospitals of the state.