BJP leadership step up an all-out attack on Etala Rajender

Hyderabad: The BJP state leadership mounted a vitriolic attack on State Health Minister Etala Rajender for blowing hot and cold against the Centre and the BJP.

Telangana State president, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, demanded Chief Minister K Chandrasekahra Rao to order an inquiry by a sitting judge of the state high court into the corruption and land grabbing allegations of his cabinet ministers, besides Health Minister Etela Rajender. He alleged that the TRS chief is trying to protect some minister and only taking action against those who he perceives against him.

Joining the State BJP chief BJP national vice-president DK Aruna and former MP and State BJP core committee member Vivek Venkataswamy have lashed at the Health Minister for frequently changing his statements and making baseless allegations against the Centre and BJP to please Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, and to save his chair.

Aruna said, "The chief minister is not taking Eatala seriously. The chief secretary does not talk to him, and the officials of the Medical and Health department do not bother about him".

Aruna said one day the Health Minister said that the Centre was not doing anything to Telangana vis-a-vis other States in fighting Covid. The next day, he praised the Centre of providing oxygen in quantities more than the State sought and extending its cooperation. However, on the third day, he changes track and makes baseless allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government at the Centre and the BJP, she added. The former minister asked the Health minister not to lose his respect and face among the people by speaking lies in his bid to please the TRS chief to save his seat.

"The Centre has provided oxygen production plants with a daily production capacity of 400 metric tonnes, five PSA medical oxygen plants with funds from the PM CARES funds. Besides, an additional 12 such plants were sanctioned and 1,000 D type oxygen cylinders have been sent to the State. Also, the Centre pressed into service military aircraft and oxygen express for the speedy delivery of oxygen. That apart, so far, 48 lakh vaccine doses have been sent to the State, lining up the supply of Remdesivir voiles and 1,91,621 metric tonnes of free food grains for distribution in May and June, she said.

Stepping up the heat Vivek Venkataswamy lashed at the health minister saying, "On Tuesday, he said the Centre had allocated more oxygen that asked. We don't know what transpired on Wednesday, the health minister changed his version alleging the Centre has failed to provide oxygen despite several requests from the State government." Adding, Vivek said the health minister was made to lie as the State government turned clueless as to how to control the Covid spread in the State. The TRS government is trying to play politics in the name of COVID as it is failing in even controlling the sale of oxygen and Remdevisir.

There is sufficient staff in the hospitals, the outsourcing and contract employees were not paid salaries properly. The government has failed to keep up its promise to upgrade all the area hospitals in the district headquarters to 100 bedded hospitals. All available funds have been pumped into the Kaleshwaram project to take commissions that left the government with no money to take care of public health, he pointed out.