TRS govt uses Central fund, takes credit: Arvind
The TRS government is distributing the rice and pulses given by the Centre for the poor and migrant labour and taking credit for it, BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri. The funds allotted by the Centre to fight Covid-19 were being used to pay the `1,500 financial aid to the poor.
In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Mr Arvind said that the Centre had given the state `599 crore to provide food to migrant labour, those who have no ration cards and those who had applied for them. It was also giving 5 kg rice and 1 kg pulses for each of the 1.91 crore white card holders every month.
While Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced that the state government was distributing 12 kg rice, minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy had said that the state’s share was 7 kg, he pointed out.
He said health minister Etala Rajendar’s claim that the Centre was not providing 1,000 test kits as requested by the government was irresponsible. The Centre had given more than `400 crore to procure PPE kits, ventilators and other equipment and asked how many had been purchased. He said DRDO director Dr G. Sateesh Reddy had offered ventilators at `5 lakh each. The government did buy any.
Mr Arvind said the government was running the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences with staff from primary health centres. It had only four ventilators and no trained staff to operate them.
The BJP MP said the TRS government “should not be subservient to any religion” regarding Covid-19. He said the government had said the BJP was politicising the situation when it raised serious issues, but it should answer the allegations made by MIM Assembly floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi on Gandhi Hospital.