Former Minister and senior YSR Congress Party leader K. Parthasarathy on Friday flayed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for ‘diluting’ the erstwhile Rajiv Arogyasri (present NTR Vaidyaseva) scheme which was introduced by the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for the benefit of the poor and needy.
Addressing a meeting in which several leaders and party workers from the Krishna district participated, he took objection to the CM’s decision to change the name of the scheme as NTR Vaidyaseva.
“He has drastically cut the budget and several crores of rupees are yet to be paid to the hospitals as a result of which patients are unable to get proper treatment,” he alleged.
Mr. Parthasarathy said in the Telugu Desam rule development took a back seat and except grandiose announcements nothing substantial had materialised with regard to the building of the capital city.
Former MLA Jogi Ramesh said earlier lakhs of patients were benefited as they could get the best treatment for heart ailments and other diseases from corporate hospitals under the Arogyasri scheme. “The scheme gave hope to poor people who, until then, were deprived of quality treatment.”