Hyderabad: Telangana Rakshana Sena president Kalvakuntla Kavitha accused the State government of neglecting healthcare and alleged that around 4,000 infants died annually in Telangana.
Addressing the media at her party office on Saturday, Kavitha criticised Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s administration. She described the government as “incompetent” and alleged failures in the healthcare and education sectors.
Kavitha linked her Telangana healthcare neglect allegation to recent infant deaths at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Adilabad. She described the deaths as “heart-wrenching.”
She also said the Chief Minister should step down if his government could not govern effectively. Citing figures, Kavitha said Telangana recorded 6,000 infant deaths in 2020–21. She put the number at 4,933 in 2022–23 and 3,853 in 2024–25.
“In almost every district, nearly 200 children have died,” she claimed. Kavitha also cited figures for Hyderabad while questioning the government’s healthcare record. “In Hyderabad alone which was promised a transformation into a world-class city, 1,046 infant deaths were recorded last year,” she said.
Telangana healthcare neglect allegation includes budget spending
Kavitha also raised questions over the utilisation of funds allocated to healthcare. She said the government allocated ₹13,192 crore for healthcare last year but spent only ₹9,242 crore. She alleged that the expenditure also fell short of the government’s promise to commit 10% of the budget to healthcare.
Furthermore, Kavitha cited pressure on major government hospitals while criticising the administration. She said Niloufer Hospital was operating at 200% of its bed capacity. Meanwhile, she claimed patients at NIMS faced seven-month waits for surgeries unless senior officials intervened.
Kavitha also questioned the absence of routine monitoring visits by district Collectors to government hospitals and hostels. She subsequently announced a political campaign against the government over healthcare and education. Kavitha described the proposed campaign as a “war against the government.”
In addition, she announced that the Telangana Rakshana Sena would contest the upcoming Khairatabad by-election.