Telangana minister hits back after Governor voices concern over Osmania Hospital

Hyderabad, June 28:  Hours after Telangana Governor Tamilisai Sounadararajan expressed concern over the condition of historic Osmania Hospital in Hyderabad, state Health Minister T. Harish Rao hit back, saying she was speaking like a spokesperson of the BJP.

The Governor, through a tweet, highlighted the alarming state of the government-run Osmania Hospital. She called for urgent action in commencing the construction of a new building for the hospital and urged the state government to fulfill its promise to build a new building.

“Concerned to see the dilapidated condition of the century old prestigious #OsmaniaGeneralHospital. Pride of this citadel of learning & healing must be restored soon,” the Governor responded to a tweet from the Twitter handle of Justice for OGH.

“We humbly appeal to the government to once again acknowledge the commitments previously made about re-construction of OGH and take action,” reads a tweet from Justice for OGH, which had tagged the Governor, the Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Health Minister Harish Rao and Industry Minister K.T. Rama Rao.

Justice for OGH posted photographs highlighting the poor condition of the hospital and the problems faced by the patients. It also posted a letter from the Joint Association for New OGH, seeking early construction of the new building.

The Governor’s tweet evoked strong reaction from Harish Rao, who remarked that her comments on Osmania Hospital are distressing.

Stating that there is clear politics in the Governor’s comments, he said that it is unfortunate that the Governor, who holds constitutional office, is speaking like an official spokesperson of BJP.

Addressing media persons, the minister questioned if the Governor spoke about even one good being done by their government.

Harish Rao recalled that the Chief Minister had taken a decision to construct the new building of Osmania General Hospital in 2015 but some people approached the court.

“This issue is currently pending in the court. We are ready to construct a new building,” he said.

The Health Minister noted that during Covid-19 pandemic the doctors at Osmania Hospital rendered valuable services and asked if the Governor can’t see the development happening in the health sector.

“The Governor has not spoken even once about the development in the health sector. The state received several awards from the Centre in the health sector. The Governor sees only negative things in our governance. She speaks only on negative things,” he said.

He wanted to know why the Governor never thought of appreciating programmes like Kanti Velugu. “Why she never tweeted about the increase in the number of beds at NIMS. NITI Aayog said that the state is leading in bringing down maternal and child mortality rates but the governor can’t see this,” he said.

This is the latest episode in the ongoing rift between the Governor and the BRS government. They had been at loggerheads over several issues during the last two years. While the Governor alleged that the state government is not respecting her by not following the protocol, the government has slammed her for creating hurdles in governance by delaying approval of Bills passed by the state legislature.