Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & Nalgonda MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the State Government should increase the number of tests for Coronavirus in the State.
Addressing video-conference with senior leaders on Friday, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the number of tests currently being done was too low.
He said tests should be done at a largescale to identify the affected people and treat me. He said lockdown was not the only solution to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. He said largescale testing should be done to ensure that the virus does not spread from the infected people to others.
The video-conference was attended by AICC Telangana Incharge General Secretary RC Kuntia, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka, MPs Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and A. Revanth Reddy, MLAs D. Sridhar Babu, Jagga Reddy, P. Veeraiah, TPCC Working Presidents Ponnam Prabhakar and Kusum Kumar, AICC Secretaries Vamshichand Reddy, Sampath Kumar, Srinivasan Krishnan, ex-PCC President V. Hanumantha Rao and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, former Deputy CM Damodar Rajanarsinha, former CLP leader Jana Reddy, Task Force Committee chairman Marri Shashidhar Reddy, National Vice President of Kisan Morcha M. Kodanda Reddy, AICC Spokesperson Dasoju Sravan, S. Niranjan and others.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress party has been giving constructive suggestions to the government. However, the ruling TRS party leaders were trying to take political advantage.
He said cases were being registered against the Congress party leaders to prevent them from distributing food and other essential items among needy persons.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of cases, he said the public representatives should be allowed to meet people to instill confidence among them.
He alleged that TRS ministers and leaders were moving around at various places, including Red Zone areas, in utter violation of norms without ensuring Social Distancing. He said there were large number of complaints of non-supply of food and other essential items by the general public.
CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka condemned the registration of case against Bhadrachalam MLA P. Veeraiah. He said that the State Government was providing food and other essentials among the poor people and it was registering cases against Congress leaders when they tried to reach out to he needy persons.
Several leaders expressed their views during the video-conference.
The Congress leaders demanded that the State Government adopt a humanitarian approach to solve the crisis. They also asked the government to maintain transparency in financial matters. They said people without ration cards should also be provided required help.
As demanded by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the MGNREGA workers should be paid advance payments for 21 days. They also discussed the issue of purchase of agriculture products and said that the process has not yet begun in many villages.
They said the economic crisis and unemployment caused due to lockdown should also be addressed by the government. They said small and medium businesses should be provided help so as to ensure that the unemployment problem does not rise.
They said of nearly 8 lakkh migrant workers in Telangana, the governnment was providing assistance only to nearly 3 lakh workers. Therefore, a majority of migrant workers were still left without any assistance. They also condemned the registration of case against former MP V. Hanumantha Rao and demanded its withdrawal.
Further, they said nearly 13 lakh White Ration Card holders were yet to get the promised financial assistance from the government. They pointed out that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had insisted on conducting more number of tests in the country.
Stating that the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has procured one lakh Rapid Testing Kits, they said Telangana should also import same kits from South Korea.
They Congress leaders alleged that the State Government was not maintaining transparency in financial affairs. The Chief Minister had announced that Rs. 30,000 crore would be earmarked for procurement of agricultural products while only Rs. 20,000 crore is said to be sufficient for the purpose.
They appreciated the help being provided by several Congress leaders and workers across the State to poor and needy persons and said that the High Command must encourage them further. (INN)