Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed shock over Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to declare 21 districts as coronavirus free without even conducting adequate number of tests.
“State government is not conducting test for secondary contacts of those found positive for COVID-19. There are many complaints that people without any travel history were not being tested although they have clear symptoms of coronavirus. Testing for asymptomatic persons has reportedly been stopped long back. Therefore, without conducting tests for suspects, is it fair on the part of State government to declare a district ‘coronavirus free’?” he asked.
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy was addressing a meeting at Tappa Chabutra in Karwan constituency after distributing food and other essential commodities among poor people on Tuesday.
The TPCC chief said any negligence in handling coronavirus would prove fatal for the entire population. “If the Chief Minister is fully confident that 21 districts in Telangana would be coronavirus-free, then he should also announce lifting of lockdown in those districts. He should give a guarantee that there will be recurrence of coronavirus in these districts. There will be zero cases if you don’t test anyone. But that’s not the right approach,” he said.
Mr. Reddy advised Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao not to act like a medical expert. “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 coronavirus,” he demanded.
Speaking about the relief measures, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that except for 12 kg rice per person and ₹ 1500 per family having white ration card, TS government did not help anyone else. Chairman of AICC Telangana Research department Aamer Javeed was present.
