TDP State president flays Jagan over remarks on medical college issue

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) State president Palla Srinivasa Rao on Thursday came down heavily on YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for his reported remarks, threatening the arrest of those who support the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

“Such remarks are a direct assault on democratic values and constitutional governance,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao said in a statement on Friday.

Mr Palla Srinivasa Rao cautioned that such statements by the former Chief Minister were intended to scare away potential investors at a time when the State needs capital.

He recalled that several industries had exited Andhra Pradesh during the YSRCP’s tenure because of the ‘policy uncertainty and hostility towards private enterprises’.

Questioning the credibility of the YSRCP’s signature campaign over the medical college issue, the Gajuwaka MLA questioned why Aadhaar details had not been made public if the party had indeed submitted one crore signatures to the Governor.

“The PPP model does not amount to privatisation and many States have successfully implemented it. Medical colleges set up in PPP mode will function in the name of government medical colleges, with ownership, administration and oversight firmly under the State’s control,” he said.

The TDP leader said that admissions, fee structures and service standards would be regulated entirely by the government, leaving no scope for arbitrary conduct by private partners.

“Seventy per cent of the beds in these hospitals will be reserved for the beneficiaries of NTR Vaidya Seva and Ayushman Bharat, ensuring access to corporate-level healthcare for the poor,” he said.

Alleging that only ₹1,400 crore from the Central funds was spent in the name of medical colleges during the YSRCP’s tenure, he accused the former CM of falsely claiming an expenditure of ₹3,000 crore.

He questioned why public welfare was forgotten when ₹450 crore to ₹500 crore was spent on the ‘Rushikonda palace’, which he described as a ‘white elephant with no public utility’.

He further recalled that emergency services such as 104 and 108 were privatised under the YSRCP regime. He accused Mr. Jagan of dismantling projects such as Amaravati, Polavaram and industrial investments initiated between 2014 and 2019.