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Hyderabad, April 1: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Minorities Department Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail has alleged that the BJP Government was trying to communalise the Coronavirus epidemic only to hide its failure in controlling its spread.
Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, Abdullah Sohail strongly condemned a section of media for its attempts to demonise the Tableeghi Jamaat and highlighting their Markaz as the epi-centre of Coronavirus in India. He said that the ‘Ijtema’ (meeting) at Markaz Nizamuddin was held between 15th to 18th March, long before Prime Minister Narender Modi talked about social distancing (March 19) and much before the Janata Curfew on March 22. He said both Delhi and Central Governments did not respond to repeated written requests sent by the Markaz seeking help to send back the people trapped due to lockdown. He said both the Central and Delhi Governments should answer the points raised by Tableeghi Jamat in its clarification wherein it claimed that it did not violate any norms.
The Congress leader said that it was ridiculous on the part of the Telangana Government to say that some suspects were untraceable. He said that the railways and airlines collect complete details of all their passengers, including address proof and mobile number, at the time of booking a ticket. Therefore, it is not a difficult task for the authorities to trace each and every person who entered the State in a specific period. Instead of tracing down the suspects and conducting tests, Telangana Government has created unnecessary hype over ‘missing suspects’ to scare the people and also to create a false impression that it was seriously handling the issue. He said those who attended the Tableeghi Jamaat meeting were ordinary citizens who travelled to Delhi and returned without violating any norms. He said it was wrong to target an entire community or group just because of its religion.
Abdullah Sohail reminded that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had made a statement in Assembly on March 8 stating that Telangana was so far safe from virus. The Chief Minister even quoted an expert on COVID 19 who had assured that the virus would perishes in temperatures above 22 degree Celsius, and a prescription of Paracetamol will give relief. He said that the Chief Minister had claimed that the temperature in Telangana was now above 30 degrees Celsius and there is little chance of the virus to survive under such conditions. “By giving such an irresponsible statement, the Chief Minister encouraged people to carry on with their regular activities and it might have prompted more than 1,000 people to travel to Delhi to attend the meeting,” he said.
The Congress leader said that the authorities should stop demonising a group or community and focus on putting an end to the epidemic by taking all measures. He said the media trial and trolling on social media would only scare away the people with symptoms to undergo required tests. He appealed to everyone with recent travel history or with any symptoms to approach the authorities for tests and treatment. He also appealed the people to ensure total lockdown and stay in-doors to maintain social distancing.
Earlier, Abdullah Sohail distributed 5 kg rice packets among the poor people at his office in Nampally. He said as per the directions of TPCC President Uttam Kumar Reddy, all the Congress leaders and workers of Minorities Department were extending all possible to the needy across the Telangana State.
