AP: YS Jagan defends replacing NTR’s name with YSR’s for health varsity

After giving a lot of thought, we went ahead with the move to change the name in favour of YSR whose brain child was the 108 as well as the 104 scheme, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy said in Assembly.

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has defended the decision to rechristen the Health University after his father and the late Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, replacing NTR’s name.

Participating in a discussion in the Assembly here on Wednesday, he said he had a lot of respect for late N.T. Rama Rao–in fact, more than what Chandrababu Naidu had and he had never spoken against NTR till date. “After giving a lot of thought, we went ahead with the move to change the name in favour of YSR whose brain child was the 108 as well as the 104 scheme. He was a medical professional who knew the woes of the poor which was why he brought corporate health care within their reach. YSR is a glowing sun in the health sector and is appreciated by one and all including the Prime Minister,” he argued.

---

Jagan also pointed out that eight of the 11 government medical colleges existed even before the Telugu Desam Party came into being. It was YSR who had started medical colleges in Srikakulam, Ongole and Kadapa. As many as 20 out of the 28 medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh were established either in the regime of late YSR or his son Jagan while the TDP rule never bothered to set up even a single medical college, he remarked.

The Chief Minister said it was unfortunate that the TDP members had without reason created pandemonium and left the house, and felt that it could have been better had they stayed and participated in the discussion. He had never spoken anything against NTR till date and kept his promise of naming Krishna district after NTR, he recalled.

“NTR earned name and fame as an actor and politician. But events such as his own son-in-law Chandrababu backstabbing him to usurp the gaddi, evil plots executed by Eenadu Ramojirao, and another journalist Radhakrishna carrying moneybags — all caused him severe mental agony resulting in untimely death. If only Chandrababu did not backstab him, NTR would have lived long and Chandrababu would never have become Chief Minister,” he observed.