Dharmana Prasada Rao warns TDP coalition against privatization of medical colleges

Srikakulam, Oct 14:Former minister Dharmana Prasada Rao strongly criticised the coalition government for its decision to privatize government medical colleges, calling it an irresponsible and anti-people move.
 Speaking at a press conference in Srikakulam, he warned that if the government does not withdraw this decision, there will be a widespread public agitation to force it to back down. He said that handing over the healthcare system to private players is like sacrificing the poor at the altar of profit.
He said that public health is the government’s responsibility and accused the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition of violating constitutional values by transferring medical education and public healthcare into private hands. He pointed out that the decision has created widespread anger among the people, who feel betrayed.
Dharmana reminded that during Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure, the state effectively fought the COVID-19 pandemic by providing free treatment through public hospitals, saving thousands of lives. He said the same system that protected the people during a global health crisis is now being dismantled for private gain.
He further said that the YSRCP government had initiated 17 new medical colleges, with seven already completed, each built at a cost of around Rs 500 crore with 50 acres of land. These institutions were planned to make corporate-level healthcare accessible to the poor. Turning them over to private management, he said, would defeat that purpose.
Dharmana also accused the coalition government of weakening the Aarogyasri health scheme by delaying payments to network hospitals, thereby denying treatment to the poor. He said that both the education and health sectors had flourished under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s leadership and warned that any attempt to undo those reforms will face strong public resistance.