Privatisation of medical colleges has no public mandate

Tadepalli, Dec 29: Former Minister Merugu Nagarjuna stated that there is absolutely no public approval for Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s actions, particularly the move to hand over the Adoni Medical College to private interests. He said people will never accept the privatisation of government medical colleges, as it directly harms the poor and shuts the doors of medical education to underprivileged families. Nagarjuna pointed out that statewide protests were held against the privatisation of medical colleges, yet the Chief Minister refused to change his approach, showing complete disregard for public opinion.
He said no contractor initially came forward to take over the medical colleges, as it became clear that such a move would invite public anger.However, in the case of Adoni Medical College, the government ensured that a tender was filed through a doctor linked to KIMS Hospital. Even more shocking, he said, is the fact that the government approved a single-bid tender, raising serious questions about transparency and intent. Handing over public assets built with taxpayers’ money to private individuals, he said, is unacceptable and dangerous.
Merugu Nagarjuna said that despite one crore people expressing their opposition through a signature campaign, the government continued on its path of privatisation. He accused the ruling dispensation of turning education into a business and destroying the reforms introduced by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. By pushing medical education into private hands, he said, the government has ensured that poor students will no longer have access to medical education. He reiterated that Chandrababu Naidu’s actions have no public mandate and warned that people will not accept these decisions under any circumstances.