The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : YSR backing out of debate: TDP

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Thursday, Aug 07, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

YSR backing out of debate: TDP

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam party has charged the Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy with going back on his challenge to enter into a debate with the Opposition on the “Rajiv Arogyasri” scheme.

Addressing a press conference, TDP leader P. Chandrasekhar said it was surprising that Dr. Reddy backed out even as the Opposition accepted the challenge and now claimed that he would respond to the criticism in the Assembly. “The shift in the stand showed that he was scared of government getting exposed”.

Unnecessary surgeries

Mr. Chandrasekhar found fault with the scheme saying public funds were being handed over to corporate hospitals and the insurance company while starving government hospitals of funds.

With no close monitoring, it has led to a situation where private hospitals were performing surgeries irrespective of the poor patients requiring it or not, just to get Rs. 2 lakh liberally given by the government and the insurance company.

On the other hand, government hospitals patronised by over two crore people, were in a pathetic state with the recruitment of doctors stopped, a lack of medicines and other facilities.

A former MLC, Balakrishnama was turned away by Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences saying it did not have enough funds for his treatment, he alleged.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said even after repeated demands by the Opposition, the government was not prepared to reveal why a little known insurance company floated just before the launch of the scheme was chosen, leaving out the reputed ones. Why did not the government go in for global or at least nation wide tenders? he asked.

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