‘SP-era scams, BJP-era expansion’: Pathak’s sharp attack on Akhilesh

Lucknow: Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak on Tuesday hit out at Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, defending the Yogi Adityanath govt's healthcare record and alleging corruption and mismanagement during the previous SP regime.In a post on his official X handle, Pathak responded to Akhilesh's criticism by listing what he called major gains in healthcare infrastructure and medical education since 2017. Quoting a Sanskrit verse, he said those without wisdom fail to learn from available evidence and urged the SP chief to review his own govt's performance before attacking the present administration.Citing official figures, Pathak said Uttar Pradesh had only 40 medical colleges from 1947 to 2017, including 17 govt and 23 private institutions. He claimed that in the last nine years, 41 new medical colleges were established, taking the total to 81, with 51 govt and 30 private colleges.He said MBBS seats had risen from around 4,500 during the SP govt to nearly 12,500 now, adding that the govt's target of at least one medical college in every district was being pursued.On service delivery, Pathak said govt hospitals now conduct 6,500-7,000 surgeries daily and treat 4.5-5 lakh OPD patients every day. He said dialysis and CT scan facilities were available in every district, and hospitals had been equipped with digital X-ray, ECG machines, ventilators, patient monitors and advanced cataract surgery equipment.Pathak also said Uttar Pradesh leads the country with over 5.5 crore Ayushman Bharat cards and more than 15.3 crore ABHA IDs, and credited telemedicine and mobile medical units for improving rural access.He alleged irregularities under the SP govt, including scams linked to 102 and 108 ambulance services, recruitment fraud, technical staff appointment issues and problems in the World Bank-funded UP Health System Strengthening Project.