HYDERABAD: Director of Public Health (DPH) G Srinivasa Rao landed in hot water on Wednesday after declaring that the entire ‘mankind was freed from the clutches of Covid-19 by the grace of Jesus Christ’. However, in the evening, he issued a statement urging the media not to distort his statement. “A few media houses are only showing some parts of the video,” he said and asked people to watch the entire video.
He clarified that Covid-19 subsided with the support of the government, initiatives taken by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, with the cooperation of all the employees and due to the prayers of people of different faiths to their respective deities. Srinivasa Rao said that he treats all religions equally and that he would never insult any religion. The essence of all religions was one and the same, he commented.
Earlier, addressing a meeting of Christian community members in his native Bhadradri Kothagudem district, the DPH even declared that Covid-19 cases in Telangana decreased due to the “grace of Jesus Christ” . It must be noted that the Centre also alerted the State governments on the possible surge of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.
At a time when the Union government was taking measures to contain the spread of Covid- 19 in the country, the DPH’s statement that the ‘entire mankind had been freed of Covid- 19’ irked many while many others also opposed the DPH giving the entire credit of containing the pandemic to Jesus Christ. “This is not because of our services. It is because of the effect of grace and kindness (krupa and daya) of Jesus Christ,” Srinivasa Rao said. He also lauded Christians for ushering in modern culture, medicine and education, which helped the country be at the forefront of tackling the deadly pandemic.
This is not the first time that Srinivasa Rao has courted controversy. Recently, he touched the feet of Chandrasekhar Rao for sanctioning medical colleges. Later, the official defended his gesture stating that the CM was like a fatherly figure. Earlier, he conducted yagam in his native village at a time Covid- 19 was leading to deaths and hospitalisations across the State. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) State unit president Surender Reddy and secretary Pandarinath demanded that the State government suspend Srinivasa Rao at once.