Major political parties joined in flaying the State government for making light of the COVID-19 scare that is rocking the entire world. The government came under fire for gross unpreparedness, even as its neighbours Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka had pulled up their socks to face the pandemic.
CM’s paracetamol tip: ignorance or apathy?
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State President Kanna Lakshminarayana said here on Monday that the State government should hang its head in shame for having shown ‘utter disregard’ for the people’s well-being. On Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s suggestion to take paracetamol to control the COVID-19 virus, he said it was unfortunate for Andhra Pradesh to be governed by such leaders.
BJP workers staged a demonstration earlier and burnt copies of the letter written by the Chief Secretary to the State Election Commission (SEC) requesting the latter to hold the local body elections. BJP State General Secretary G. Bhanuprakash Reddy wondered why the government was more concerned about elections rather than public health. “Political heads and officials swear on the Constitution to stand by the people, but in this case, they appear to be more inclined towards bagging seats,” he said.
Tirupati: ‘a high-risk area’
Demanding declaring a ‘health emergency’ in the State, former MP Chinta Mohan said the Tirupati Parliamentary constituency faced ‘high risk’ vis-a-vis COVID-19 threat, in view of the presence of Tirumala Hills, Sri City Industrial City and Krishnapatnam Port. He blamed the unrestricted entry of devotees to Tirupati, flow of manpower and material between Sri City and the worst-hit Asian countries and import/export of goods at Krishnapatnam Port for the same.
“Looking beyond a cursory request to devotees, the TTD should ban entry of outsiders into Tirupati for at least a fortnight,” Dr. Mohan told the media, adding that the health of local residents had been compromised. He also suggested that the Kanchi Mutt’s unused medical college building near Renigunta Airport be used as an isolation ward, instead of SVIMS and Ruia Hospital, so as to prevent its spread to denizens.
Meanwhile, Jana Sena State coordinator Pasupuleti Hariprasad accused the Chief Minister of not only neglecting people’s health, but also for naively suggesting paracetamol. Calling it a ‘crude joke’ on the people, he wondered if the State would ever wake up to the reality.
