New Delhi: Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday urged the Telangana government to not extend the prevailing lockdown in the state. A lockdown, with a four-hour daily relaxation, is in force across the state since May 12. After 10 days, it was further extended till May 30. The state Cabinet will meet today to discuss if the lockdown in Telangana must be extended.
In a series of tweets, the MP said data showed COVID cases were declining in the state much before the lockdown was imposed. “I must reiterate my opposition. It’s not a strategy to combat COVID-19. It APPEARS as a “hard on pandemic” strategy but all it does is destroy the lives of poor,” Owaisi tweeted.
Strongly urge @TelanganaCMO to not extend lockdown. If goal is to reduce crowding, then we may consider evening curfews (6 PM onwards) or mini-lockdowns for COVID clusters. But expecting ~3.5cr people to live for weeks with just a 4 hour lockdown relaxation is not fair at all 4/5
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 30, 2021
Noting that the only long-term solution is universal vaccination, he shared, “Lockdowns give a cruel choice to the poor: poverty, police atrocities, or pandemic. They make a public health crisis into a law and order problem. They are neither a scientific nor a humanitarian strategy.”
While urging the Chief Minister to not extend lockdown, he said if the government wanted to reduce crowding of the public, it may consider evening curfews from 6 pm, or impose mini lockdowns for COVID-19 clusters. “But expecting people to live for weeks with just a 4-hour lockdown relaxation is not fair at all.”