Vijayanagaram, 10 December: YSRCP Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Botcha Satyanarayana, announced that Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will meet Governor S. Abdul Nazeer on December 18 to submit one crore signatures opposing the privatisation of newly established government medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to the media at the YSRCP district office, Botcha condemned Chandrababu Naidu for once again prioritising corporate interests over public welfare by attempting to hand over the new government medical colleges under the guise of PPP. He recalled that former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had initiated the construction of 17 medical colleges, one in every district, to bring super-specialty healthcare closer to the poor and expand access to medical education. While seven colleges were completed and admissions began in five of them, Botcha criticised the TDP-led coalition for now seeking to privatise ten new medical colleges, including those already operational, betraying the very purpose for which they were established.
He said unprecedented public anger is visible across the state, with lakhs voluntarily joining the YSRCP’s mass movement and contributing to the successful mobilisation of one crore signatures against privatisation. He reiterated that these signatures will be presented to the Governor on December 18 to formally convey the people’s objections.
Botcha questioned whether any private institution, whether GITAM or any other corporate hospital, would ever provide free medical services to the poor the way government hospitals do. He warned that converting public medical colleges into private entities would destroy accessibility and affordability for common people. He reaffirmed that the YSRCP will cancel the PPP model and restore all these institutions to full government control immediately upon returning to power. He appealed to Chandrababu Naidu to stop pursuing anti-people policies that burden the very poor who trusted him with their vote.
Responding to media questions, Botcha said that while a government medical college typically takes 5 to 7 years to become operational, the YSRCP completed them in just three years. He criticised the stagnation of AIIMS Mangalagiri for nearly a decade under the Centre.
He also expressed strong opposition to the proposed privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, stating that the lack of captive mines increased production costs and created artificial losses to justify its sale. As a partner in the NDA, he said, the TDP government must intervene and ensure the Centre reverses this harmful decision.
Further, he blamed the Union Civil Aviation Minister for the massive IndiGo crisis, saying the Centre’s mismanagement resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations, causing immense hardship to thousands of passengers. Botcha concluded that whether in healthcare, industry, or national infrastructure, the BJP TDP alliance is consistently failing the people, while the YSRCP stands firmly with public interest and social justice.
One Crore Signatures warn Chandrababu to withdraw Medical Colleges Privatisation
