Visakhapatnam | October 10, 2025 — Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday led a 63-kilometre roadshow from Visakhapatnam to Makavarapalem in Anakapalli district, protesting the state government’s alleged plan to privatise government medical colleges.
Thousands of supporters and local residents turned out along the route despite tight police restrictions. The roadshow concluded at Makavarapalem, where Jagan inspected an unfinished medical college building that was initiated during his government’s tenure in 2022.
Addressing a public gathering, Jagan accused the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition government of attempting to hand over the state-run medical colleges to private entities. “The present government is conspiring to privatise these institutions that were built for the poor,” he said, announcing a statewide protest and a signature campaign aiming to collect one crore signatures to demand a rollback of the alleged plan.
Jagan highlighted that his government had launched 17 new medical colleges to expand access to affordable healthcare and medical education across Andhra Pradesh. “Five of them were completed, and classes had already begun in Pulivendula and Paderu,” he noted.
The former chief minister claimed that the TDP government had issued orders to halt ongoing construction works, thereby jeopardising nearly 4,910 medical seats, including 2,360 seats reserved for poor students at no cost. He dismissed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s claim of a funding shortage, asserting that the projects were backed by NABARD and Central government infrastructure schemes, with long-term, interest-free repayment options.
“With just ₹5,000 crore required to complete all colleges, spending ₹1,000 crore annually was well within reach. Naidu deliberately stalled these projects,” Jagan alleged.
During his roadshow, employees of the Vizag Steel Plant met Jagan to seek his support against the proposed privatisation of the plant. Farmers from the Chodavaram Sugar Factory also submitted grievances over unpaid dues of ₹35 crore, which they said have affected nearly 24,000 families.
Responding to Jagan’s criticism, state Information Minister Kolusu Parthasarathi defended the government’s policy, stating that adopting a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model does not amount to privatisation. He accused Jagan of misleading the public, pointing out that several key infrastructure projects such as Gangavaram Port, Bhogapuram Port, and Machilipatnam Port were developed under the PPP model during Jagan’s own tenure.
Image Source: Google | Image Credit: Respective Owner
