On the call of YSR Congress Party President and former CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Andhra Pradesh has erupted in protest against the coalition government’s decision to privatize 10 newly built government medical colleges.
What YS Jagan’s government created with Rs. 8,500 crore investment and historic vision — 17 new government medical colleges to ensure healthcare and medical education for the poor — is now being dismantled and handed over to cronies under the PPP model.
The “Chalo Medical College” program has seen protests in every district, uniting students, youth, volunteers, cadres, and people. From Pulivendula to Parvathipuram, from Markapuram to Rajahmundry, from Nandyal to Amalapuram, the movement has become a people’s roar: “Public colleges for the people, not for profit!”
Voices from the Protests
• Pulivendula (Kadapa District): Protesters recalled that Jagan initiated 17 medical colleges across the state, five already started classes, two more got NMC approval for 2024-25. They condemned the coalition for failing to lay “even a single brick” in 15 months, instead plotting privatization.
• Amalapuram & Konaseema: Leaders Chirla Jaggireddy, Dadishetti Raja, and others burned Chandrababu’s GO on privatization, calling it a betrayal. They declared that until PPP is scrapped, the fight will continue.
• Adoni (Kurnool District): A massive rally led by Butta Renuka, Kangati Sridevi, Vijaya Manohari and youth/student leaders raised slogans that privatization will destroy poor students’ dreams.
• Markapuram (Prakasam District): Former MLA Anna Rambabu thundered that drought-hit, backward areas like Markapuram cannot survive without a government medical college. He vowed: “I am ready even for an indefinite hunger strike until this decision is rolled back.”
• Machilipatnam (Krishna District): Former minister Perni Nani and Devineni Avinash led huge rallies with ex-MLAs and youth cadres. They warned that the government is mortgaging the future of poor students.
• Eluru (West Godavari District): Leaders Karumuri Sunil Kumar, Dhulam Nageswara Rao and others were blocked at multiple points by police, yet hundreds managed to reach the dharna site.
• Rajahmundry (East Godavari District): Former minister Venu Gopala Krishna, Jakkampudi Ganesh, Talari Venkata Rao and others were stopped by police. Former MP Bharat, along with cadres, sat on the road in protest, raising slogans against undemocratic suppression.
• Vizianagaram & Parvathipuram (North Andhra): Dharmana Ram Manohar Naidu led marches, paying tributes to Dr. YSR’s statue en route, declaring: “These colleges are YSR’s dream and Jagan’s promise — we will not allow them to be gifted to cronies.”
• Nandyal (Kurnool Region): Byreddy Siddharth Reddy, State Youth Wing President, delivered one of the most powerful attacks:
“We are not fighting for selfish politics; we are fighting for the poor.” Farmers (onion, tomato growers) are suffering, yet the government is only plotting privatization. MBBS students must rise as private colleges are being forced on them. “This coalition came to power only to do business with medical education. We will not let it happen.”
Narsipatnam (Anakapalli District): Former MLA Petla Umashankar Ganesh noted that 60% construction is complete, yet coalition leaders pretend not to see it, trying to hand it to contractors. Despite police blockades, leaders reached the college by alternate routes.
• Paderu (ASR District: Protest flagged off by Annamreddy Adeep Raj and K.K. Raju. Police denied entry to leaders into the medical college, who then staged protests at the gates.
• Sattenapalli / Piduguralla (Palnadu District)
This region saw the worst police repression:
• State spokesperson Nagarjuna Yadav, Joint Secretary Veera Reddy and student leaders were arrested.
• Former minister Vidudala Rajini was placed under house arrest at Chilakaluripeta.
• Hundreds of students were blocked, dragged, and detained at Sattenapalli station after a sit-in dharna.
• Leaders Dr. Gajjala Nagabhushan Reddy, Nagarjuna Yadav, and Veera Reddy broke barricades and reached Piduguralla Medical College, energizing cadres.
The Assembly Battle
Inside the Legislative Council, YSRCP moved an adjournment motion demanding immediate debate on privatization.
• Leader of Opposition Botsa Satyanarayana blasted the government, calling privatization “anti-public health” and “a cruel, disgraceful policy no government ever imagined.”
• He declared: “PPP is nothing but exploitation. Will poor people ever get healthcare under such a system? We will fight this at every step.”
When the Chairman rejected the motion, YSRCP MLCs stormed the podium, raised slogans, and forced adjournment of the House till Monday. Outside the House, they staged sit-ins, only to be blocked again by police.
This refusal to even debate in the legislature has been widely condemned as an assault on democracy itself.
- Healthcare is a Right, Not a Business: Jagan’s 17 colleges symbolized universal access. Privatization equals denying the poor.
- Crony Capitalism at Work: Single-bid tenders, 66-year leases, Rs. 100/acre land giveaways — all to enrich Chandrababu’s benamis.
- Students and Youth as the Vanguard: From Adoni to Eluru to Piduguralla, it is students and youth who are leading the agitation.
- Democracy Suppressed: Arrests, house arrests, sit-in blockages, rejection of debate in Council — the government fears accountability.
The Statewide Echo
From Rayalaseema to Coastal Andhra, from North Andhra to Palnadu, the cry is the same: “Government medical colleges must remain with the government.”
The “Chalo Medical College” protests have become the largest united resistance since the coalition came to power, directly challenging Chandrababu Naidu’s crony privatization agenda.
YSRCP has vowed that once back in power, every PPP agreement will be cancelled and medical colleges will be restored to full public ownership, keeping alive the vision of YSR and YS Jagan for a healthier, more equal Andhra Pradesh.
