Hyderabad, Oct 21 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday accused the Congress government in Telangana of neglecting public health.

He, along with former health minister Tatikonda Rajaiah, local corporators, and BRS leaders, inspected the Basti Dawakhana at Ibrahim Nagar in Khairatabad constituency here on Monday.

KTR interacted with patients and enquired about the issues being faced at the healthcare facility.

He recalled that under the leadership of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), the previous BRS government had established 450 Basti Dawakhanas across Telangana to make healthcare accessible and affordable for the poor.

Alongside, Telangana Diagnostic Centres were set up to provide free medical tests to the public, and one medical college per district was sanctioned, each attached to a full-fledged government hospital.

The BRS expressed concern that the Congress government had neglected public health since coming to power, leaving many Basti Dawakhanas in poor condition. “The staff at several Basti Dawakhanas have not been paid salaries for four months. These centres are supposed to have 108 varieties of essential medicines, but the government has failed to ensure adequate supply,” KTR said.

He also pointed out that the Telangana Diagnostics services have collapsed under Congress rule.

“Under KCR’s leadership, we launched four TIMS (Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences) hospitals, each with 1,000 beds for the urban poor, and initiated the 2,000-bed NIMS expansion project. Our government completed 90 per cent of the work, but this government hasn’t even finished the remaining 10 per cent,” he remarked.

Criticising the government’s handling of sanitation in Hyderabad, KTR said, “Even basic cleanliness in the city has been ignored. Garbage collection has stopped in many areas, the mosquito menace has increased, and people are suffering from viral fevers. The Congress government must wake up from its deep slumber and immediately focus on public health and sanitation.”

He demanded that the state government establish another 450 Basti Dawakhanas if it truly cares for the people and complete the pending TIMS hospitals at the earliest. “Otherwise, we will organise protests in front of the TIMS hospitals soon,” he warned.

KTR announced that a detailed report on the deteriorating health conditions in Telangana will soon be submitted to the state government under the supervision of former Health Rajaiah. He also urged the government to release the pending salaries of Anganwadi workers and implement the promised pay hike immediately.

KTR lashed out at Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender and the Congress leadership for political hypocrisy. “Danam Nagender was elected as an MLA on the BRS ticket, yet his name appears in the list of Congress star campaigners for the Jubilee Hills by-election. Everyone knows from which party he won and where he defected,” KTR said.

He accused the Congress of having no moral or ethical clarity regarding the defection of MLAs.

“The Congress party itself is confused – their MLAs can’t even say clearly which party they belong to,” he remarked.

Taking a dig at the national leadership, KTR said, “It is not the AICC – All India Congress Committee anymore, it is the ‘All India Corruption Committee’. The corrupt Congress party is being led by Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.”

“While the Congress shamelessly claims that no BRS MLA has joined them, the same AICC includes our MLA’s name in their star campaigner list. This reflects the double standards and moral bankruptcy of the Congress leadership,” he added.

–IANS

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