Amaravati
In Andhra Pradesh, the name-changing saga continues: Dr. YSR University of Health Sciences (YSRUHS) is now back to being NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS). This follows a recent trend of renaming government institutions and schemes according to political shifts.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Dr. YSR University of Health Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2024, restoring the university’s name to honor NTR, who originally established it. The Bill was introduced by Minister for Health, Family Welfare, and Medical Education, Y Satya Kumar, and received support from TDP and its allies, including Jana Sena and BJP. The vote occurred without YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) members, who had renamed the university in 2022.
Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy, known as YSR, served as Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009. He was the father of YSRCP founder YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who recently lost power to the TDP-JSP-BJP coalition. After the TDP lost power in 2019, Jagan Mohan Reddy renamed several schemes from the previous government, replacing them with names associated with YSR or himself.
Satya Kumar criticized the former Chief Minister, claiming the removal of NTR’s name reflected a narrow mindset. On June 4, as election results were coming in, TDP workers preemptively changed the nameplate of YSRUHS to NTRUHS and damaged a plaque at YSR’s statue on campus.
