Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday hit out at the YS Jaganmohan Reddy government in the state alleging that it “abdicated its responsibility” at the time of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
He also appealed to the people in the state to self-monitor to save themselves from the deadly pandemic.
‘Out of sheer selfishness, the government hastily reopened liquor outlets and arbitrarily hiked prices without taking necessary precautions for the health security of the people,” said Chandrababu Naidu while targeting the YSRCP-led Andhra Pradesh government.
Chandrababu Naidu also praised the people for diligently following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lockdown orders for over 40 days with discipline and said that all their sacrifices should not go in waste.
Referring to crowds standing at liquor shops despite the rising number of infections, Chandrababu Naidu slammed the Andhra Pradesh government for not implementing strict zonal restrictions while allowing the sale of liquor in the state.
”People from red zones thronged liquor outlets in green zones posing the risk of the virus spread there. In fact, the Centre advised to classify entire districts as red zones but, for its own convenience, the Andhra Pradesh government restricted this to smaller units which were now threatening to push public health into serious risk,” said Chandrababu Naidu.
Chandrababu Naidu further said that the “childish acts” of Chief Minister YS Reddy are posing multiple dangers to the poor families relating to health and financial situation.
“Only the government outlets were opened to push poor quality brands because of the prospects of huge commissions involved in this,” said Chandrababu Naidu.
He also questioned the hike in liquor prices by 75 per cent in just two days.
“Because of the steep price hike, poor workers were spending all their money on the liquor now and they were not giving whatever little amount they used to give to their family members before,” Chandrababu Naidu said.
Chandrababu Naidu also warned the state saying that the sudden opening of liquor shops has caused violent clashes leading to fatalities, domestic violence and even suicides.
Chandrababu Naidu even stressed the need for door-to-door delivery of essential commodities in the containment zones by assigning distribution to designated individuals while conducting more tests as a precautionary measure.
