Visakhapatnam: Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council and former minister Botcha Satyanarayana on Tuesday accused the state government of attempting to hand over medical colleges to private players, calling it a move against the interests of the poor.

Speaking at a press conference here, Satyanarayana said former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had met the Governor to highlight the “true intentions” behind the privatisation drive. He stressed that YSRCP’s policy is to keep government medical colleges under state control to ensure access to medical education for the poorest sections.

“The coalition is projecting our stand as a ‘threat’ while continuing its privatisation scam. But this is not a threat-it is our policy,” Satyanarayana asserted.

Referring to the Opposition’s recent signature campaign, he said public sentiment is clearly against privatisation. “Anyone can go to the villages and conduct a survey to see the reality,” he added.

Satyanarayana also criticised the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act by the NDA government at the Centre, calling it “unfortunate” and a setback to Gram Swarajya (village self-rule). He questioned why the Centre was not challenged on the issue and why Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan remained silent.

On the alleged plight of the students under the coalition government’s rule, he alleged that the Chandrababu Naidu-led government had failed to clear fee reimbursement dues and Aarogyasri bills. He further charged that prime lands were being sold at throwaway prices, while corruption and lack of accountability were worsening the state’s condition.

YSRCP Visakhapatnam district president K K Raju and Anakapalli district president Gudivada Amarnath were also present at the media briefing.