As AP reported 1,177 with 31 deaths, the ruling YSRCP leaders instead of intensifying efforts to contain the outbreak and its economic impact are deflecting the severity of the pandemic spread in the state is engaged in blame-game.

On Monday, in what could be the most ludicrous allegation, fisheries minister Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao accused the TDP of operating sleeper cells to spread the virus. The YSRCP leaders have attempted to brand the outbreak as the result of a “TDP virus” as a counter to the main opposition party charges that AP government had failed to tackle and contain the spread of the virus early on.

Reacting to Mopidevi’s comments, senior TDP leader Devineni Uma said such cheap comments are a result of TDP’s brave calls for transparency and its fair criticism over the AP government’s opaqueness and concealment in handling the corona situation in the state. He further said the approach of opaqueness and concealment will impede attempts to control the outbreak and put the lives of crores of people in the state to a grave risk. He said the government was more concerned with political meetings than pandemic control. “Attempts by doctors and municipal commissioners to expose the government’s failure in providing by PPEs, N95 kits was muzzled by the government. The government is now mounting a full-on misinformation campaign to conceal its misdeeds in handling the crisis. Now, the government is making cheap comments that TDP might be the outbreak’s true source. Such lies will not help the government in covering its failure to contain the spread of the virus. These allegations expose the government’s attempts to cover up coronavirus spread. It is evident that the government is trying to deflect the primary focus and issue of containing the virus.

Rallies, meeting people in groups without maintaining physical distancing norms, distributing cash and knocking on doors of people in corona affected areas, everything seemed like election campaigning than relief works, Uma said.

Another senior TDP leader Varla Ramulu said the state government lied to the people about the danger and contagious nature of Covid-19, silenced voices of dissent, and did little to stop the spread of the disease. “The government must be held accountable for their actions, for not doing enough to slow the spread of the virus,” Varla Ramaiah stated.

He further said the state government has botched the emergency-like situation by wasting time on fighting legal battles or muzzling voices of dissent. “One thing that needs to happen now is providing adequate medical equipment to front-line warriors, protect healthcare providers; another is to ramp up testing to confirm suspected cases. But instead leaders like Mopidevi are stopping low by leveling cheap allegations against the TDP and its leaders,” Ramaiah said.

Is it not a fact that YSRCP MLA Madhusudhan Reddy took out a rally in Chittoor’s Srikalahasti, in what was seen a vulgar display of arrogance, abuse of power and nonchalant attitude. The YSRCP MLA’s massive tractor rally to distribute rice to the people in Srikahalasti looked as if we were in an election year. At the rally, there was a large turnout of the YSRCP MLA’s supporters, a posse of police personnel on bandobast duties, revenue and ward secretariat staff in full attendance. The Jagan administration looked largely incompetent in stopping the MLA masquerading on the streets and whose incompetence and recklessness have threatened the lives of many, many people in the state. Post the rally, Srikalahasti reported 36 cases, at least 13 of them are government employees, police officers who were part of the rally bandobast. Till that time not a single corona case was reported in Srikalahasti. In Nellore, another YSRCP MLA Nallapreddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy organized food and grocery distribution programme. The lockdown rules were thrown out of the window. Hundreds of supporters of the MLA took part in the programme. None of them wore masks and none of them maintained physical distance. It did not look one bit social work. The MLA with folded hands was a typical photo op during the election season.

What action did the Jagan government take against the irresponsible MLA? If the Opposition parties point accusing fingers at the government, the Cabinet ministers were resorting to personal attacks, pour vitriol on the Opposition leaders, the TDP leaders said.