Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday, 24 August called on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to immediately address the demands of striking junior doctors, warning that poor patients in government hospitals are bearing the cost of the ongoing impasse. Jagan made the appeal via a post on X, sharply criticising the state government's handling of the crisis.

Scale of the Strike

Nearly 9,000 interns, postgraduate doctors, super-speciality doctors, and senior residents from 19 government medical colleges across Andhra Pradesh have been protesting for over two weeks. According to Jagan, the disruption has spilled into critical services — including casualty wards, ICUs, and labour rooms — inflicting serious hardship on patients with limited means.

The Stipend Dispute

At the heart of the strike is a demand for a stipend revision that, Jagan argued, was already mandated under GO No. 287, which prescribes a 15 per cent increase in junior doctor stipends every two years, effective from 1 January. The Naidu government has reportedly offered only a 3 to 5 per cent hike — an offer Jagan described as inadequate given rising inflation and the increased cost of living.

Jagan cited the YSRCP government's own record, claiming it had raised stipends by 42.4 per cent during its tenure. Super-speciality course doctors, he said, were reclassified as Senior Residents and received an overall increase of 77 per cent. AYUSH junior doctors were also brought on par with allopathic junior doctors under that administration, he added.

Broader Healthcare Concerns

Jagan used the occasion to level a wider set of allegations against the Naidu government's management of public health infrastructure. He claimed the government had stalled construction of new medical colleges — the YSRCP had reportedly initiated 17 new government medical colleges simultaneously, completing six — and alleged attempts to sell off the unfinished ones.

He further alleged that Nadu-Nedu renovation works in government teaching hospitals had been halted, that hospitals face shortages of WHO/GMP-standard medicines, and that Aarogyasri network hospitals are struggling under dues exceeding ₹3,000 crore. Jagan also alleged the government had wound down the zero-vacancy policy, weakened the Family Doctor programme, removed specialist doctors from Community Health Centres, and rendered Village and Urban Clinics ineffective.

Political Demand

'Will you force junior doctors, who save lives, onto the streets and put the lives of poor patients at risk?' Jagan wrote in his post. He urged Naidu to immediately convene talks with junior doctor representatives, revise stipends to an appropriate level, and end the strike without further delay. 'Chandrababu garu, at least now, give up this arrogance,' he added.

The Naidu government had not issued a formal public response to Jagan's post at the time of reporting. With emergency services increasingly strained, pressure on the state to negotiate is expected to mount in the coming days.