Accusing the DMK and Congress of spreading lies, BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that construction of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai will be completed as per proper procedure.
Addressing an Assembly election campaign meeting in Madurai on Friday, he said the AIADMK and BJP governments had worked towards setting up the AIIMS. A state-of-the-art infectious diseases block will be established at the AIIMS. “The AIIMS will provide quality healthcare and treatment for the people of this region,” he added.
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Recently, DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin had campaigned holding a brick to stress that there was no progress in the construction of AIIMS beyond the initial brick laying ceremony.
Mr Modi said that the DMK and Congress must control their lies because the people are not foolish. “The DMK and Congress project themselves as the only protector of Tamil culture. However, the facts prove the opposite,” he said. However, in 2011 the UPA Government supported a ban on jallikattu. “A Congress leader called jallikattu a ‘barbaric practice’. Is that a word a leader uses for jallikattu, which is part of Tamil culture for centuries?” questioned Mr. Modi. The AIADMK government, an ally of BJP, had promulgated an ordinance to permit the conduct of jallikattu, he noted.
Charging that the DMK did not take any steps for the welfare of Devendra Kulavelalar community, Mr. Modi insisted that the AIADMK and BJP had worked to ensure the dignity of the community. He claimed that the law-and-order situation in the State will be disturbed if DMK-led alliance comes to power. “The DMK is trying to make peace-loving Madurai a ‘mafia den’ because of an internal family complication in DMK’s first family,” he alleged.
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The NDA focuses on three main areas for the development of South Tamil Nadu: infrastructure, irrigation and investments, said the PM.
In this year’s Union budget, a series of economic corridors have been announced, and one of them is Madurai-Kollam corridor. Funds allocated for railway infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu have increased by a record 238% as compared to 2009. “In the upcoming years, improving road, metro and air connectivity in Tamil Nadu will be given additional focus,” he said.
He said that a vote for NDA means a vote for better investments in this region. The NDA is creating the right atmosphere to bring in more industries in this region. Food processing and agro industries which help in value addition of agricultural produce will be given importance. The BJP government is supporting start ups and regulatory frameworks are being liberalised. It has a major focus on providing additional credit and modern machinery for the textile sector, he added.
More than 60 lakh tap water connections have been established in Tamil Nadu under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The government is focussing on giving a major boost to health infrastructure. “We are focussing on establishing one medical college for every three districts and increasing the number of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats,” he said.
AIADMK leader and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that an alliance with the BJP government will help to bring good projects for Tamil Nadu. He alleged that the DMK was a ‘dynasty party’ that functions like a corporate company.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and senior leaders of BJP, AIADMK, PMK and other alliance parties, participated.