YSRCP defends medical college expansion, accuses Govt. of hindering progress

Andhra Pradesh : In Thursday’s address to the media at the YSRCP central office, former MLC Jupudi Prabhakar Rao commended former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for his efforts to make medical education more accessible, while launching a sharp critique against CM Chandrababu Naidu’s policies.

YS Jagan’s push for medical colleges

Jupudi highlighted that YS Jagan’s government initiated the construction of 17 new medical colleges, with a goal of making medical education accessible to underprivileged students across the state. He emphasized that these efforts will increase the number of medical seats by 2,550, bringing the total to nearly 5,000. According to Jupudi, all fees collected from these seats will go directly to the government colleges, ensuring that the revenue is reinvested into the maintenance and development of these institutions.

Criticizing Naidu’s tenure

Jupudi contrasted YS Jagan’s accomplishments with Chandrababu Naidu’s tenure, pointing out that despite serving as Chief Minister for 14 years, Naidu did not establish a single government medical college. He accused Naidu of focusing on self-financed colleges and NRI quota seats, rather than addressing the needs of the state’s underprivileged students.

Privatization allegations

The former MLC went on to criticize Naidu’s policies of liberalization, privatization, and globalization, alleging they led to the destruction of public sector institutions in Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that Naidu had plans to privatize the newly constructed medical colleges, and further accused him of attempting to stop the construction of these institutions, including writing letters to prevent the allocation of seats to Pulivendula Medical College.

Calls for political action

Jupudi concluded by warning that if the government does not reconsider its position on medical colleges, the YSRCP will take further action. He accused government of obstructing access to medical education for SC, ST, and BC students, framing it as a conspiracy to deny opportunities to marginalized communities.

This statement marks another sharp exchange between the two political rivals, with Jupudi continuing to defend YS Jagan’s administration while accusing Naidu of undermining public sector initiatives.