On his first visit to his hometown as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on October 8 said the immense love showered by people of Vadnagar has given him a new energy to serve the nation with more zeal. On the second day of his visit to poll-bound Gujarat, Mr. Modi held a roadshow at Vadnagar, his birthplace, in Mehsana district where a large number of people queued up along the route to greet him. The entire city was decorated to accord him a grand welcome. Mr. Modi was visiting his birthplace for the first time after becoming Prime Minister in 2014.
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Modi flags off Antyodaya Express
Mr. Modi laid the foundation stone for a barrage over the Narmada and flagged off the Antyodaya Express at Bharuch.
“The Antyodaya Express is a commendable initiative by the Railway Ministry. It connects people and particularly helps those who are from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and work away from their home,” he said. “Antyodaya Express makes it easier for people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to go home for Chhath Puja.”
“Gujarat’s strides in animal husbandry have helped farmers. I told U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath to send a team to Gujarat and study the Pashu Arogya Melas. They did that and organised a similar one in Varanasi, which I had the opportunity to visit and see how it helped farmers,” he said.
‘UPA failed to frame on health policy’
Mr. Modi slammed the UPA government over the state of healthcare sector in the country, alleging that it had failed to frame a health policy during its 10-year rule. He also said that the previous government did not pay attention to increasing the number of seats in medical colleges.
“The last health policy was announced during Atal ji ’s (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) regime around 15 years back. After that, such a government assumed power which used to hate development. It did not have any empathy for the people,” Mr. Modi said.
“As a result, a new health policy was introduced after almost 15 years by our government,” he said addressing a gathering after inaugurating a medical college here in his hometown. The Prime Minister also criticised the earlier government over the issue of seats in medical colleges which, according to him, were much less than the requirement of doctors in the country.
“Due to the rules formulated by the past governments, very few students were able to secure admission in the medical colleges. Thus, we have taken up the task of opening one medical college for (every) three to four Lok Sabha constituencies across the country,” Mr. Modi said.
“Since we also need good professors for such colleges, we have also increased 6,000 seats in PG medical courses in the last one year. Though some people criticised the move, we remained firm because we understand that we will need good professors for producing good doctors,” he said.
The Prime Minister said due to the relentless efforts of his government, the prices of stents as well as medicines have drastically reduced.
“The prices of stents were around ₹1.5 lakh to almost ₹2 lakh (each). Someone would get a heart attack by just hearing such a high price. We then called the manufacturers and asked them not to rob the poor by charging such high price. Today, the stents are available at just 40% of the original price,” he said.
“Similarly, we were also concerned about the prices of medicines. That is why we have started a mission to sell generic medicines at subsidised rates,” Mr. Modi said.
Mission Indra Dhanush
“I am happy that I have got to inaugurate projects relating to the health sector, particularly Intensified Mission Indra Dhanush,” Mr. Modi said. “We brought prices of stents down. Work is constantly being done to make healthcare affordable for the poor.”
After meeting with the students of a medical college, Mr. Modi said, “We as a society require more doctors who can serve people.”
Warm welcome at Vadnagar
“I am touched by the immense love showered by the people of Vadnagar today. It gave me new energy to serve the nation with more zeal,” Mr. Modi said addressing a public gathering after the roadshow. He said he had managed to serve the nation with the help of blessings of Lord Shiva since 2001 despite some people “spewing venom” at him over these years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow at his hometown Vadnagar in Gujarat on October 8, 2017. Photo: @PMOIndia
“The blessings of Bhole Baba (Lord Shiva) gave me the strength to drink and digest poison. Due to this ability, I was able to counter all those who spewed venom against me since 2001. This ability gave me the strength to serve the motherland with dedication over these many years,” he said. “I started my journey from Vadnagar and now I have reached Kashi (Varanasi). Just like Vadnagar, Kashi is also the town of Bhole Baba (Lord Shiva). Bhole Baba’s blessings gave me immense strength, and this strength is the biggest gift I have received from this land,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
