Health minister denies Jagan’s claims on medical college

Vijayawada: Health minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav strongly countered former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s remarks made during his visit to Narsipatnam, accusing him of misleading the people with false statements regarding new government medical colleges.

Satya Kumar said Jagan’s claim that construction of the Parvathipuram Government Medical College was progressing rapidly was an outright lie. He asserted that during Jagan’s tenure, not even land acquisition for the college was initiated. “If Jagan can prove that construction is actually underway, I am ready to resign from my post. Otherwise, he must apologise to the people by rubbing his nose to the ground,” the minister challenged.

He proposed that a fact-finding committee, comprising individuals of Jagan’s choice, be formed to verify the reality of the project. If evidence of progress or land acquisition is found, he said, he would step down immediately. Failure to respond, he added, would expose Jagan’s deliberate attempt to mislead the people of north Andhra.

The minister accused the former chief minister of spreading falsehoods about medical colleges being built under the PPP model. “Jagan must realise that you can fool some people for some time, but not everyone forever,” he said.

Referring to the expenditure figures, the minister stated that of the Rs 8,480 crore sanctioned for 17 new medical colleges, Jagan’s government spent only Rs 1,550 crore in four years — an annual average of Rs 387 crore. In contrast, he said, the current coalition government is spending nearly Rs 1,000 crore a year.

Satya Kumar also pointed out that Jagan spent only Rs 10.7 crore out of the Rs 500 crore allocated for the Narsipatnam Medical College and not a single rupee for the Parvathipuram project, reflecting his “neglect and bias” toward Uttarandhra.

He said people had already taught Jagan a lesson in the 2024 elections, but the former chief minister “has yet to learn from it.”