Hyderabad, Jul 8 (PTI) The opposition Congress and BJP in Telangana have stepped up their attack on the TRS government over 'failure' to contain COVID-19 and alleged Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has been 'missing' from action and 'disappeared' when there is a spurt in the cases.

While the Congress blamed the spike in cases on the "negligence and incompetence" of Rao, the BJP said the government was trying to divert people's attention from its 'failure' by starting the demolition of the state secretariat buildings for constructing a new complex.

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The ruling TRS, however, dismissed the charges, saying the chief minister was very much on the job and monitoring the situation.

As of Wednesday, Telangana has 29,536 COVID-19 cases with 324 deaths. The state capital is among the worst hit by the virus as it added over 9,000 cases in the last one week.

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"COVID-19 is increasing in Telangana due to the negligence, ignorance and incompetence of Rao, stateCongress president and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

Telangana people are asking where the Chief Minister has disappeared at a time when corona is spreading fast in Hyderabad, he said on Tuesday. State BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged the ruling TRS has started the demolition of state secretariat buildings, to pave way for construction of a grand new complex, to divert peoples attention from its failure to contain COVID-19.

It is poor people who suffered (because of corona). The Chief Minister is not in a position to protect the state. He has thrown his hands up, he said. When it is circulating in social media that the Chief Minister is not to be seen, he is starting demolition of secretariat to divert peoples attention from the governments inefficiency in handling corona, Sanjay Kumar told a virtual rally organised by his party on Tuesday. Earlier, Congress MP A Revanth Reddy had tweeted: Far away from Hyderabad... quarantining in farm house, will not help solve #covid19 crisis.. agonising situation of a frontline warrior Dr. Sultana.. @TelanganaCMO."

He posted a video of a virus-hit doctor who accused a private hospital of detaining her.

Dismissing opposition allegations of the Chief Minister missing from action, former TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said such comments were meaningless. He is on the job, seriously monitoring everything day in and day out. During the lockdown, he addressed the press for hours together. It is the Union Government which relaxed lockdown... We are following it," he said on Wednesday.

The country was in the third place in the world in number of COVID-19 cases now and likely to occupy the top spot soon, he said and asked can the Prime Minister be blamed for it.

BJP leaders should answer it, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)