Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: The ruling Congress and Opposition BJP have locked horns over the dengue crisis in Karnataka with leaders from both parties hitting out at each other.
The BJP has been organising visits to hospitals. On Sunday, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka visited the Jayanagar General Hospital to check on dengue patients, while former deputy chief minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan led a team to the Okalipuram slums to assess the situation.
“The government has completely failed in controlling the rapid spread of dengue,” Narayan said. “When the BJP was in power, 51 additional PHCs were sanctioned. The current government hasn’t provided these PHCs with the required staff or supplies,” he charged.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao slammed the BJP for politicising the dengue situation. Rao even said that “BJP’s lies” were more dangerous than infections caused by mosquitoes.
Rao said he had held talks with Bangalore Rural BJP MP Dr C N Manjunath, a cardiologist, who urged the government to declare a ‘medical emergency’ on dengue. “But people like R Ashoka are creating fear and panic,” he said.
On social media, the BJP targeted the Congress government for “ineffective management” of dengue. The Congress countered this by recalling the slips during Covid-19 management when the BJP was in power.
BJP targets Rao
Rao was pulled up by the BJP for taking a swim in Mangaluru amid concerns over the dengue situation.
Taking a dig at Rao, the BJP referred to Roman emperor Nero who is believed to have played the fiddle while Rome burned. The saffron party dubbed the minister as “Nero Rao”. Rao clarified that swimming was a part of his daily routine. He said he took a swim at a government facility and not in some resort.