For the past few months, the issue of medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh has been creating a major controversy. While the Chandrababu government is looking to hand over government medical colleges under the public, private, and public–private partnership (PPP) model, YSRCP leader Jagan Mohan Reddy has been strongly criticizing the move, alleging that colleges initiated during his tenure are being handed over to private institutions. As part of this, a one-crore-signatures campaign was undertaken, and a representation was submitted to the Governor on Thursday. On this issue, it must be said that both Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy are competing in telling untruths. On one hand, while it is true that Jagan initiated these colleges during his tenure, he is projecting it as if the majority of the work has already been completed. On the other hand, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is repeatedly stating that PPP does not mean privatization, that all these colleges will remain with the government, and that only the management will be handled by private institutions. He is making repeated efforts to explain this, fearing that it could cause problems if the issue strongly reaches the public.
The claim made by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that PPP does not mean privatization and that everything remains under government control is not entirely true. A clear example of this is the Shamshabad Airport in Hyderabad, which is also a PPP project. For this project, the government provided as much as 5,000 acres of land and spent thousands of crores on connectivity, including the PVNR Expressway and other roads. Even so, the entire management remains in the hands of the private company GMR, and the government has no control over it. The only exception is that the User Development Fee (UDF) collected from passengers is decided by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), which comes under the Central government. Such projects generally remain with private companies for at least an initial 30 years, followed by another 30 years—amounting to a total of 60 years. This duration may vary depending on the project. Despite several such PPP models being visible right before everyone’s eyes, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is trying to convince the public that PPP does not mean privatization and that everything will remain under government control. If the government were to retain control, it can be said with certainty that no private company would come forward to invest hundreds of crores and take up the management of colleges and hospitals. It clearly appears that Chandrababu has begun this narrative only to avoid the opposition emerging on this issue.
At the same time, YSRCP chief and former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy faces opposition from industrial circles on several fronts. The main reason for this is his approach—both during his tenure in power and now while in the opposition. His attempt to alter MoUs of power projects immediately after becoming Chief Minister had created a nationwide uproar, forcing even the Centre to intervene. Now, in the case of medical colleges as well, his threat that he would send those who take over these colleges to jail within two months of coming to power has become a major topic of discussion. Questions are being raised about how Jagan can send companies or individuals who bid based on government notifications to jail. While there was some favorable atmosphere for YSRCP on this issue, Jagan’s statements appear to have completely reversed the situation, amounting to a self-goal, as even YSRCP leaders opine. A former minister from the party commented that the issue was taken to a peak only to be entirely reversed.
Party leaders feel that on several issues, Jagan has pushed the party and its leaders into serious trouble. In the case of the Google Data Center as well, while YSRCP leaders spoke in one voice, Jagan suddenly announced at a media conference that they were not opposed to it, shocking party leaders. Now, instead of stating that action would be taken against those who committed mistakes in the medical colleges issue, saying that those who took over the colleges would be jailed has led to a complete reversal, according to discussions within YSRCP. On one hand, Chandrababu is ready to spend close to ₹1 lakh crore for Amaravati. On the other hand, he is not only offering thousands of crores in incentives to giant companies but is also allotting land worth thousands of crores. But why Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is behaving so stubbornly only in the case of medical colleges has now become an unanswered question.