The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has intensified its ‘One Million Signature Movement’, describing it as a people’s uprising against the TDP-led alliance government’s alleged plan to privatize government medical colleges. Party officials said the move would turn medical education and health care into luxuries beyond the reach of poor families.
Ending the “anti-poor and pro-corporate” public-private partnership (PPP) model, YSRCP leaders on Wednesday demanded its immediate withdrawal and accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of “selling the future of poor students to private profits”. They said the massive signature campaign reflects “one million families defending their right to affordable health care and affordable education.”
The leaders contrasted the current government’s policies with the initiatives of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, recalling that he laid the foundation of 17 government medical colleges, five of which are already functional. “YSRCP built institutions for future generations while the present regime conspired to hand them over to private cronies,” they alleged.
Accusing the ruling alliance of governance failure and false propaganda, the YSRCP said, “Their welfare is on paper, publicity is on steroids but delivery is nil.”
Ground reports indicated a large turnout across the districts. In Kadiri, BS Maqbool led units in several panchayats, while Perni Krishnamurthy spearheaded the effort in Machilipatnam. Similar programs were organized in Amarapuram, Sullurupeta and Narsipatnam.
The YSRCP called on citizens to unite against privatisation, saying the movement symbolized the “collective struggle of the people for the protection of public health facilities and the right to affordable healthcare”.
Published – 29 Oct 2025 21:23 IST
