AP govt's claim of 1 million COVID tests a sham; Centre should probe: TDP

Amaravati, Jul 6 () TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government's claim of conducting one million COVID-19 tests is a "sham" as test reports were generated without taking samples and said the central government should immediately look into the matter.

The state government is "cheating' both people and the Centre with regard to COVID-19 testing numbers since the beginning, he said in a series of tweets.

"Shocked that a Govt can stoop to such level to cover their failures.

'One Million Covid tests' narrative woven by the AP Govt is either a sham/scam.

I request the Centre to look into this immediately and expose the criminal motive behind the 'SMS testing racket' run by the government," Naidu said.

The Telugu Desam Party chief said a video from Anantapur district is proof of a scam.

People who had not even given their samples have received SMSs declaring them to be negative/positive, he said.

In the video, TDP said in a statement that a woman Ward Health Secretary from Tadipatri constituency said she received a call from a computer operator, who requested her to get a few people from her area for testing.

When they refused to come for the test, fellow colleagues in the secretariat were asked to come for the test next day.

The next day, her colleagues waited till noon as they did not receive a call from the computer operator.

Samples were not taken for COVID-19 tests.

However, after a few days, her male colleague said he had received a message on his mobile from the Petition Monitor Cell of Ananthapuram,stating that his COVID-19 test result was negative, though he had not given his sample for a test," the statement quoted the woman as saying in the video.

Another man who reportedly received such a text message claimed he got it from the government hospital, saying he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The man expressed surprise that he had tested positive without giving his samples for testing, the statement added.

Naidu alleged that there was a "conspiracy behind falsifying the COVID-19 test results by the government" and requested the Centre to 'expose' the criminal intent.

Till July 5, the state government said it had conducted one million COVID-19 tests in the state.

The number of positive cases shot past the 20,000 mark on Monday. LUX APR ; RAVINDRANATH ; RAVINDRANATH