Former minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Thursday demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao clarify as to what his government has achieved by imposing an unplanned lockdown for nearly two months.
He was speaking to media persons after distributing ration kits among poor people organized by Congress leader Mohd Feroze Khan at Jhirra, Asif Nagar of Nampally Constituency on Thursday.
Shabbir Ali said that no indications of an extended lockdown were given when people were asked to participate in ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22. People participated in the program with total honesty and also clapped ‘Taali &Thaali’. But this excitement proved fatal and the State and Central Governments kept on extending the lockdown period. “The main intention of the lockdown was to break the chain of Coronavirus and stop its spread. However, maximum cases were reported after the imposition of lockdown and formation of Containment Zones. Therefore, the lockdown did not help in any way in preventing the spread of Coronavirus. Why this was not realized by the Chief Minister at the end of first or second phases of lockdowns?” he asked.
The Congress leader also condemned the Chief Minister for going slow on the testing for Coronavirus. “What will anyone gain by showing less number of patients? If someone is affected and needs to be treated then his case will anyway come out either due to severe symptoms or deterioration in his health. However, early detection of the disease might lead to his possible treatment. Further, a Covid-19 patient should be identified immediately so that he could be quarantined or isolated to prevent further spread of the disease. But KCR Govt has been trying to hide the real figures of Coronavirus since beginning for reasons known only to the Chief Minister,” he said while welcoming the decision of the High Court which permitted private hospitals and labs to test and treat Coronavirus patients.
Shabbir Ali advised common people to be cautious when they come out for shopping, jobs, or other works during the relaxation period in the lockdown. He said that since the State Government did not test all the suspects and secondary contacts, the risk of the spread of Coronavirus was very high. He urged the people, especially members of the Muslim community to take extra precautions till Eid-ul-Fitr. He said any negligence might again provide an opportunity to the communal forces to target the entire community for the spread of the virus.