Roll back privatization move, YS Jagan demands govt.

Narsipatnam, Oct 9: Demanding a rollback of the privatization of medical colleges, former Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said state-wide protests will be launched and a one crore signature campaign will be taken up to mount pressure on the government if it does not take corrective measures.

Addressing the gathering with the semi-finished medical college in the backdrop, he said, while our government had taken the initiative to bring 17 medical colleges to make medical care and education accessible to the people, Chandrababu is privatizing the medical colleges and driving poorer sections away from these facilities.

Describing hospitals as modern temples, YS Jagan said private players would exploit the poor, and public health would be at risk due to Chandrababu Naidu’s move.

Of the 17 medical colleges, five were completed in our term and classes began in Pulivendula and Paderu. Chandrababu has even issued a memo to stop the construction of the medical colleges with the intention of privatizing them.

He said the total medical seats would have gone up to 4,910, with 2,360 of them available free of cost to poor students and the rest at much lower fees than private colleges, ensuring crores of families could access affordable medical education and free healthcare.

For Amaravati, his greed has no bounds; he is ready to spend Rs. 2 lakh crore but lacks the will to spend Rs. 500 crore on each medical college for public health. This shows where his priorities are. With the lack of proper medical facilities, patients have to go to KGH in Visakhapatnam. The recent incident at the Kurupam hostel, where tribal students fell ill due to contaminated water, also shows the utter neglect of the government.

The RO plant built under Nadu-Nedu during our term had no proper upkeep. When the filters stopped functioning, water got contaminated and 170 students were affected. Screening, done 20 days after the first signs, revealed the extent of the outbreak, which claimed two lives.

The local MLA, who is also the Speaker, has made uncalled-for remarks about this medical college and even asked for the GO. YS Jagan displayed GO No. 204, showing that the foundation stone for this 600-bed college was laid way back in 2022, despite COVID. The institution would have offered 150 medical seats annually, benefiting locals. YS Jagan said the Speaker, by misleading the public, has demeaned the office he holds and should hang his head in shame.

In North Andhra, YSR had brought RIMS to add to KGH, and during our term, we initiated four medical colleges at Vizianagaram, Paderu, Parvathipuram, and Narsipatnam, of which classes began by 2024. Five multi-speciality ITDA hospitals were also taken up. He also showed the photos of Parvathipuram under construction and pointed out the Palasa Super Speciality Hospital and Kidney Research Centre that were completed.

Across the state, seven out of the 17 medical colleges were completed during our term, with 800 seats, but Chandrababu Naidu even rejected the additional 50 seats for Pulivendula Medical College. Had all the colleges been completed, the state would have had an additional 2,500 medical seats, which would have transformed the public health landscape.

YS Jagan said Chandrababu’s claim of no funds was false as the projects were tied up with NABARD funds and also included under Special Assistance for Infrastructure schemes of the Centre, providing interest-free loans repayable over 50 years. With only Rs. 5,000 crore needed, spending Rs. 1,000 crore annually was well within reach but Chandrababu deliberately stalled them.

Detailing the agitation programme, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said Rachabanda outreach programmes would be held from October 10 to November 22, where the neglect and failures of Chandrababu would be highlighted and one crore signatures would be collected. There would be dharnas at constituency and district headquarters on October 28 and November 12. The signatures would reach Vijayawada by November 23, and the representation would then be given to the Governor. He said signature papers would move from constituencies to district centres on Nov 23 and from districts to Vijayawada in lorries on Nov 24 before being submitted to the Governor.

En route to Narsipatnam, Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) employees met YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and narrated their plight. The government is moving towards privatization by giving away 32 divisions to private players, while staff are being harassed through VRS and other coercive measures.

Chodavaram Sugar Factory farmers also met him and said that the government failed to release Rs. 35 crore due to them, affecting 24,000 families. Land acquisition for the bulk drug factory too has become contentious, as government land is being ignored in favor of new acquisitions.

In Visakhapatnam, about 4,500 small shops were demolished without alternatives, robbing nearly 32,500 people of their livelihood. Students, women, farmers, employees, all sections of society, have been affected and cheated by the Chandrababu Naidu government, he said.

Concluding, YS Jagan gave a stern warning to Chandrababu that unless he rolls back this unjust move and corrects himself, history will remember him as a disgrace and a man without honor.