Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy's move renaming the NTR health university after his late father and former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy has enraged the opposition TDP which resorted to protests inside the assembly and on the streets.
The state health university governing medical education in Andhra Pradesh was established in 1986 during the tenure of then chief minister and TDP founder NT Rama Rao. It was named as Dr NTR University of Health Sciences in 1998, two years after his demise, by the Chandrababu Naidu administration.
On Wednesday, Jagan's government introduced the Dr NTR University of Health Sciences (amendment) Bill 2022 in the state assembly to rename it as Dr YSR University of Health Sciences.
The TDP legislators bristled with anger, protesting at the Speaker's podium. They surrounded the chair and tore off the papers. After suspending them from the house, speaker Tammineni Sitaram referred their “unruly behavior” to the privilege committee for further action.
Opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu questioned the logic behind renaming the university after YSR.
“How is YSR connected with the NTR Health University, which was established in 1986 by NTR with a view of having a dedicated institution for medical education. After his demise, our TDP government had in 1998 named the university after NTR. No successive chief minister, including YSR himself, ever thought of changing the name of the university which acquired national recognition,” Naidu said in a press statement.
Accusing Jagan of failing in setting up any new establishment in the state, Naidu said that the CM “is only capable of ridiculously renaming well-established institutions.”
“The ruling dispensation which diverted Rs 450 crore funds from the university account, defamed the institution prestige and left it with no funds to conduct even the annual convocation, is now changing its name,” Naidu alleged while demanding the YSRCP to retain NTR's name.
TDP leaders and cadres took to protests at the university gate and blocked a main road in Vijayawada for a while. They accused Jagan of disrespecting NTR.
However, CM Jagan justified the renaming of the health university, stating it as “a well-thought out move to give due credit to Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy.”
“I have no disrespect towards NTR. But credit should be given to the deserving as Dr YSR, a practicing medical doctor before joining politics, who has been a pioneer in taking quality medicare to the common people with his innovative Aarogyasri health scheme and the 108, 104 ambulance services,” Jagan said intervening during the motion on passing the name change bill.
“Chandrababu usurped the TDP and the Chief Minister post from his father-in-law NTR causing him mental agony. As CM, he could not recommend NTR’s name for Bharat Ratna while we have kept our promise and renamed a district after NTR,” Jagan countered.
The Bill was later passed by voice vote.