Tadepalli, Dec 17: YSR Congress Party leaders have strongly alleged that the privatization of government medical colleges by the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government is a massive scam being executed under the guise of the PPP model. Speaking to the media at the YSRCP Central Office in Tadepalli, former minister and Anakapalli district party president Gudivada Amarnath, party spokesperson and former MP Gorantla Madhav, and MLC Monditoka Arun Kumar accused the government of indulging in open plunder of public assets while completely ignoring public opinion.
The leaders said Chandrababu Naidu has begun recklessly handing over valuable government medical colleges, hospitals, and hundreds of acres of prime public land to private players and benamis, fully aware that he will not return to power. They alleged that while the YSRCP government under YS Jagan Mohan Reddy initiated 17 new medical colleges, completed seven of them, and started classes in five, the present coalition government has decided to privatize 10 colleges, putting public health at stake. The leaders asserted that thousands of crores worth of public assets created during YS Jagan’s tenure are being gifted away, even as the state has been pushed into ₹2.66 lakh crore of debt within just 18 months.
YSRCP leaders further alleged that an additional scam has been designed in the name of paying salaries to staff of the privatized medical colleges for two years, imposing an unnecessary burden of nearly ₹1,400 crore on the public exchequer. They said this amounts to handing over colleges and land with one hand while collecting kickbacks with the other, as the government pays around ₹70 crore per college per year in salaries even after transferring control to private entities. They accused Chandrababu Naidu of shamelessly distorting the Parliamentary Standing Committee report to justify his decisions and of stooping to any level for kickbacks.
The leaders said the unprecedented response to YSRCP’s one-crore signature movement proves that people from all sections strongly oppose medical college privatization and understand the corruption behind it. They pointed out that over 1.36 crore people have signed against the decision, including a significant number from Chandrababu Naidu’s own native village, reflecting deep public anger. YSRCP leaders warned that once the party returns to power, a thorough probe into the privatization of medical colleges will be conducted and all those involved, irrespective of their position, will be held accountable and punished. They asserted that the party will continue its struggle until the PPP privatization decision is completely withdrawn.
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