Jagan submits 10 million signatures to governor against ‘privatisation’ of medical colleges
Jagan Mohan Reddy calls Andhra's medical college privatization a major scam, claiming it harms public health and threatens access for the poor.
YSR Congress party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday described the proposed privatization of medical colleges in the state under the garb of public-private-partnership (PPP) mode as the mother of all scams, indulged in by Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government.
The YSRCP president, accompanied by scores of party leaders, met state governor Abdul Nazir at Lok Bhavan in Vijayawada and submitted more than 14 million papers carrying the signatures of various sections of people opposing the alleged privatisation of the medical colleges.
Jagan explained to the governor about his party’s signature campaign against the coalition government’s decision. He apprised Nazir of the government’s motive in privatising the health care system in the state.
Speaking to reporters later, Jagan said he had explained to the governor how millions of people across the state were opposing the government’s move, which would deprive the poor and the middle class of their legitimate right to health. “We shall continue our protests till the decision is reverted and if necessary, we shall also wage a legal battle against the government,” he said.
The former chief minister alleged that while the government would bear the cost of the land and the construction, the management of the medical colleges would be in the hands of the private parties. “What is worse, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has the audacity to agree to pay salaries to private medical colleges from the state exchequer. The poor and the middle class will not be able to afford the costly treatment in the teaching hospitals affiliated to the medical colleges,” he said.
Earlier, addressing Party leaders, after flagging off the vans carrying the signature papers and ahead of meeting the governor to appraise him of the fraud, Jagan said 1,04,11,146 people have signed the papers during “Racha Banda and other programmes held across the state against the privatization, which also adversely affects public health, and they have also given their phone numbers, which adds to the authenticity of the campaign.
He lauded the party cadre for making the campaign a grand success and flayed Naidu for weakening the institutions, more so the medical and education sectors. “The government should run hospitals, schools and RTC buses to keep private players and their exploitation away, but Chandrababu Naidu is doing the opposite,” he said.
Jagan warned that all the private players who would bid for the medical colleges would have to face imprisonment once the YSRCP returns to power in 2029.
TDP official spokesperson and Swachh Andhra Corporation Chairman K Pattabhiram accused the YSRCP misleading the public over the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for medical colleges in AP.
He alleged that the YSRCP had fabricated signatures from its Tadepalli headquarters to falsely project large-scale public opposition. “The submission of one crore signatures to the governor was nothing but another political drama aimed at deceiving the people,” he said.
Pattabhiram pointed out that while the YSRCP was staging protests against the PPP model in Andhra Pradesh, its own MPs supported private participation in medical education at the national level. He referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, of which YSRCP’s Tirupati MP Dr M Gurumoorthy—also Jagan Mohan Reddy’s personal doctor—was a member.
“The committee, he noted, clearly recommended encouraging private investment to expand MBBS seats and promote innovation in medical education,” he said.
