TN: Modi lays foundation stone for AIIMS in Madurai

Madurai, Jan 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for AIIMS (All India Institutes of Medical Sciences) Madurai. He also inaugurated super-speciality blocks at medical colleges in Thanjavur and Tirunelveli.

He will also address a public rally in the temple town of Madurai. The rally will present a chance to Modi and the BJP showcase the work the central government has done for Tamil Nadu, said a senior party leader.

The new AIIMS will cost Rs 1,264 crore and is expected to go on stream in 2022. It will be a 750-bed hospital with a long term focus on post graduate and higher education and research. It will have a capacity of 100 MBBS seats and 60 for B.Sc.(Nursing). The project cost to upgrade the three other medical colleges is Rs 450 crore.

While addressing the gathering Modi said,"We all know AIIMS in Delhi has cultivated a brand name in healthcare. With AIIMS in Madurai, this brand has been taken to all corners of the country. The AIIMS in Madurai would be constructed at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore.''

Modi said, "The NDA Government is giving great priority to the health sector, so that everyone is healthy and healthcare is affordable."

He also said that under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, the government has supported and upgraded Government Medical Colleges across India.

Modi said, "Swachh Bharat has become a people's movement. Rural sanitation has increased from 38 per cent in 2014, to 98 per cent today." He also said,"We have built more than nine crore toilets in this period, out of which 47 lakh have been made in Tamil Nadu alone."

Speaking on the 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections in the general category, PM Modi says the decision has been taken in a way that it doesn't impact Dalits, Tribals and OBCs. "It is unfortunate that an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust is being created by a few people in TN to serve their own selfish interests," says Modi, in an apparent reference to DMK challenging the legislation in Madras High Court.

Speaking on nation's first high-speed train T-18, Modi says the credit for it goes to Tamil Nadu. "In times to come, T-18 will provide high-speed connectivity across the country," says Modi. "When production begins on a large scale, it shall provide a large number of employment opportunities for youth of Tamil Nadu," he says.

Taking a dig at Opposition efforts to form a Grand Alliance, Modi says the parties are keeping aside all other considerations and uniting to remove the "chowkidar". "All those who were used to making deals in government contracts, defence deals and welfare schemes are now facing the music. That is why, they are all coming together," he says.

Stressing that the Opposition parties are uniting out of fear and negativity, Modi says he was not afraid of how big a group they form. "Narendra Modi will stand firmly with the poor. I call upon the people of Madurai and the youth of Tamil Nadu to reject these forces of negativity," he says.

In the last general elections, the BJP won just one Lok Sabha seat out of 39 in Tamil Nadu and drew a blank in neighbouring Kerala which has 20 seats.

According to PMO officials, Modi will fly to Thrissur in Kerala from Madurai to address a public rally. It will be his second visit in less than a fortnight to the state since January 15 when he flew down to inaugurate a bypass in Kollam.