VIJAYAWADA: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav has strongly criticised former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for opposing the government’s decision to implement the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in medical colleges.
Addressing mediapersons at the Secretariat on Thursday, the Minister accused Jagan of obstructing development and creating unnecessary political tension.
Yadav said that Jagan’s plan to submit one crore signatures to the Governor against the PPP model was irresponsible and politically motivated. He alleged that the former Chief Minister was making provocative statements, including threats to send contractors and institutions to jail if his party returned to power.
The Minister said that both during YSR’s tenure and Jagan’s own tenure, contracts were awarded in various sectors, and therefore criticising the current PPP approach was inconsistent.
He challenged Jagan to seek a CBI inquiry if he truly believed there was wrongdoing and added that he was prepared to face any legal scrutiny.
Yadav argued that institutions coming forward to build medical colleges should not be intimidated. He criticised Jagan for making allegations despite facing several corruption cases himself. He said that such rhetoric was one of the reasons the public rejected him in the elections.
Defending the PPP model, the Minister said that previous governments, including Jagan’s, had used similar models for services like 108 ambulances, Aarogyasri and cath labs. He said the NDA government’s policy aims to expand medical access to nearly 1.4 crore families, providing treatment up to `25 lakh.
He added that the government plans to build 625-bed hospitals within two years and that PPP medical colleges would create more seats for poor students.
Yadav dismissed the signature campaign as lacking credibility and accused Jagan of spreading misinformation.
The Minister also said that Jagan had not sent proposals for AYUSH development during his tenure and clarified that funds spent on yoga facilities in Visakhapatnam came from the Centre.