Guntur: Former deputy speaker Kona Raghupati came down heavily on Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and the TDP-led coalition for spreading false propaganda on government medical colleges. Addressing the media at the YSR Congress Party central office on Sunday, he said Naidu has always thrived on lies, betraying the poor and weaker sections with false promises before elections and dashing their hopes after coming to power.

He recalled that it was YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who took the historic decision to establish 17 new government medical colleges, guided by NITI Aayog’s proposal for one college in every parliamentary constituency. “This was not a political move, but a social responsibility to ensure free healthcare for the poor and accessible medical education for students,” Raghupati said.

During YS Jagan’s tenure, seven colleges were fully constructed, five have already started classes, and the rest are nearing completion. In contrast, the coalition government has halted construction for 15 months and is now shamelessly preparing to privatise these very institutions. “You rejected 50 MCI seats for Pulivendula Medical College and now you claim to care for students? This hypocrisy must be exposed,” he said.

He slammed Chandrababu’s claim of financial constraints. “You borrowed Rs 1.90 lakh crore in just 15 months. Can you not spend Rs 4,000 crore on essential medical colleges,” he questioned.