Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday evening lashed out at a section of the media stating that their ‘minds were crooked’ and even cursed them, stating that they “should get coronavirus”.
The CM was upset over a particular report on the safety of doctors by a newspaper, published after a doctor at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital was attacked by the kin of a coronavirus patient last week. Since then, the police have beefed up security at the state-run hospital.
“There are some newspapers, whether they know it or not, that are writing nonsense. I’m sorry for that. I won’t take names, but the other day a newspaper wrote horrible things,” he said.
Talking about the article that had posed the question ‘where is safety for doctors’ and also highlighted a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), KCR said, “Will the government not ensure the safety of doctors? Will the media do it? Why should they write like that? There should be some ‘sanskaar’ (culture).”
Saying that the state had ordered 40,000 PPE kits, he added that if a certain section of the media ‘continued in this way’ with ‘100 percent lies’, the state government would go ahead and file a case.
“Write good things if you can or go to sleep and home... At least now, those who have crooked minds should get better. I pray that it happens. It’s your karma otherwise... you should get corona, I’m cursing you. Why are they writing like this in such a time (of crisis)?” he added.
“You’ll know the trauma if you get it (the virus). I’m saying this with a heavy heart. I’m sorry,” he further said.
Meeku (Yellow Media) Carona virus takalani nenu shapam pedtunna - KCR during Press Conf
— Raj Karsewak (@rajkarsewak) April 6, 2020
( I curse Yellow Media to get infected by Corona Virus )pic.twitter.com/DshfhzgWtL
On April 4, the state government had said that it had procured 5 lakh PPE kits, 5 lakh N-95 masks and 5 lakh viral transmission kits besides 500 ventilators. 20 lakh surgical masks and 25 lakh gloves were also purchased, the state government said.
However, the report that KCR was referring to seems to have been filed before this announcement was made.
At the press meet on Monday, KCR said that the state had readied 16,000 to 17,000 beds and a pool of doctors, nurses and technicians to meet any emergency.
There are eight COVID-19 notified hospitals in the state but all patients will be treated in Gandhi Hospital, irrespective of their social and economic status, he said.
Later on in the press meet, he again spoke about the media’s role and said, “I’m not against media, don’t misunderstand me. What I said is not for all media outlets. It is for those who are spreading lies. During this time, instead of lifting the spirits of doctors, they are hurting their morale. Even other journalists should not tolerate this. There are many who are doing good stories at this time, highlighting stories of human courage.”
The Chief Minister is no stranger to such controversy. Shortly after coming to power in 2014, KCR had allegedly ensured a blackout of TV9 and ABN – two Telugu TV news channels – for airing a news report and cartoons that showed him in a bad light, and also said, “We will bury them, be careful. We will bury them some 10 km.”
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