New Delhi, Dec 19,: YSR Congress Party MP Dr. M. Gurumoorthy strongly criticised the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for its rigid insistence on privatising government medical colleges, stating that the move is in complete disregard of overwhelming public opposition. He said the massive response to the YSRCP-led one-crore signature campaign itself stands as clear evidence of people’s resistance to privatisation. Releasing a video from New Delhi on the issue of medical college privatisation and the Parliamentary Standing Committee report, Dr. Gurumoorthy asserted that former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s vision was to ensure super-speciality healthcare reached the poorest household by establishing one teaching hospital and medical college in every district. As part of this vision, 17 government medical colleges were initiated, but the coalition government halted the construction immediately after coming to power, thereby undermining public healthcare.
Dr. Gurumoorthy condemned the false propaganda being spread that YSRCP supported privatisation through the Standing Committee, clarifying that neither the Committee nor its report ever recommended handing over government medical colleges to private entities. He pointed out that the Standing Committee report itself highlights the stark disparity in fees between government and private institutions—where annual fees at AIIMS Delhi are just Rs.1,350, around Rs. 24,000 at KGMU Lucknow, but soar to Rs. 26.5 lakh per year at private institutions like DY Patil University, Pune, with several private colleges charging between Rs. 60 lakh and Rs. 1.5 crore. He questioned whether TDP leaders were deliberately ignoring these facts that clearly demonstrate how privatisation places an unbearable financial burden on students and their families and restricts access to healthcare for the poor.
The YSRCP MP emphasised that the Standing Committee only offers advisory observations and clearly states that health and medical education are government responsibilities. It merely suggests limited private participation for knowledge-sharing and skill development, not the sale or transfer of public medical institutions. Dr. Gurumoorthy reiterated that during his tenure as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare (2020–2024), he consistently opposed privatisation, warning that it would make medical education unaffordable and healthcare inaccessible to the poor.
Reaffirming that YSRCP stands firmly with the people on every platform, Dr. Gurumoorthy declared the party’s complete opposition to medical college privatisation and urged the state government to immediately reverse its policy and continue medical colleges under the public sector. He appealed to the coalition government to act in the public interest instead of attempting to benefit a few through the sale of public assets, stressing that people today can clearly distinguish truth from falsehood and will not accept policies that compromise public health and social equity.
TDP using Tirumala for political gains
