Hours after assuming charge as the state BJP president, Bandi Sanjay on Wednesday trained his guns on the Telangana government accusing Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao of furthering Asaddudin Owaisi appeasement policy while attributing the spurt in the corona virus positive cases in the country to the Tablighi Jamaat attendees at Markaz Masjid in South Delhi’s Nizamuddin.

“Why did the Telangana government give permission to people who returned from Delhi to enter Telangana,” he asked while pointing out that the state government was not strict against Tablighi Jamaat attendees and this was the reason the coronavirus has spread in the state.

“Why did the Telangana government stop pilgrims from Varanasi from entering into the state,” Sanjay asked seeking an explanation from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao. The Telangana government did not permit the pilgrims from Varanasi to enter Telangana at the behest of Asaddudin Owaisi. “The Telangana government should stop appeasing Owaisi,” Sanjay said.

In one of his press briefings, Telangana Health Minister Eetala Rajender attributed 640 of 700 positive cases in the state to Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their contacts. He said the main reason for Greater Hyderabad accounting for the majority of the cases was the presence of a large number of Markaz returnees to Hyderabad. “More persons were affected because they have joint families and live in small houses,” he had said.

With the state reporting daily corona cases single digits, Sanjay expressed concerned that the government may be hiding the truth, which could disrupt attempts to end the pandemic. He feared that the state government was intentionally under-reporting total corona virus cases. “The state government probably is eager to win awards and rewards that it has successfully tackled the virus, while the truth seems to be that the government is hiding the figures,” he accused.