On the third day of the ongoing Assembly session in Telangana, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) engaged in a war of words over the handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Owaisi remarked that he had not seen any achievements of the state government in its COVID-19 response, to which CM KCR objected and said that he was not ready to accept Owaisi’s “attempt to project the scene as a failure of the government.”
The issue came to the fore following Health Minister Eetela Rajender’s briefing on the spread of COVID-19 and containment efforts in the state.
While appreciating frontline responders like sanitation staff, technicians, burial ground workers and doctors and health workers, Akbaruddin Owasi took exception to the state not giving recording its gratitude to them in the government note. The AIMIM floor leader asked the government why there was no word of appreciation for people who contributed to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Dubbing the Health Minister’s note a ‘health bulletin’, Akbaruddin asked why there are no details about how much COVID-19 impacted the economy of the state, its finances, the livelihoods of people and its social impact. Expressing anguish, Akbaruddin alleged that the government was not serious about the matter as it failed to mention details of rations, money distribution and arrangement of trains.
He said, “I'm so sad to say that nothing of that has been said or mentioned in the note. Why this unseriousness? Relief measures have not been mentioned. I don’t know who is looking after the affairs, we should look up on this.”
Responding to Akabaruddin's statement, CM KCR said that all the information was not given as the Health Minister thought the given information was enough for the House. The Chief Minister took a jibe at the demand and said, “We will give all the information about the Mahabharata, but we will not accept attempts to project that as a failure of the government.”
The Chief Minister accused Akbaruddin Owaisi of trying to play to the gallery instead of discussing. The floor leader further criticised the government for not holding a meeting with the Opposition to prepare for the pandemic. Even as Akbaruddin suggested that there should be a plan to deal with the days to come if there is a second wave and spoke about oxygen beds in hospitals, Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy asked Akbaruddin to conclude.
Getting infuriated at the Speaker's intervention, Akbaruddin blamed the Chief Minister for not letting him speak. He said that the CM was not ready to hear his concerns before concluding the speech. He walked out of the House saying that people of the state are watching the episode.
On Tuesday too, AIMIM, the second-largest party in the Assembly, boycotted the House when a resolution was introduced seeking Bharat Ratna for former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. The party accused him of being communal and against minorities.