Avtar Bhat/
Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, June 4: An AIIMS will be set up in Jammu before any other part of the State, Minister of State in the PMO with independent Charge of North Eastern States Dr Jitendra Singh asserted today, seeking to put a lid on the controversy in view of reports that the medical institute might be set up in Kashmir valley first.
“I say with assertion that AIIMS will be established in Jammu before it is set up in any other part of the State”, Dr Singh told reporters soon after his arrival from New Delhi this morning.
The Union Minister who is on tour of the State to highlight the achievements of one year rule of Narendra Modi led Government was flanked by BJP State president and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and Party senior leader and MLA Ashok Khajuria. He made it clear that BJP is not averse to opening of AIIMS in any other part of the State but it will also be established in Jammu at same time. Later, he addressed a press conference at Summer Capital also.
“The BJP has struggled for years together for better medicare facilities to Jammu people and the Party has been demanding a medical institute for Jammu soon after the establishment of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura in Kashmir valley by the then Chief Minister, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah after he took over the reigns of Government in 1975”. This institute was also on AIIMS pattern, he added.
Dr Singh, while lashing out at opponents who have launched a tirade against the party for surrendering AIIMS said BJP has struggled for rights of Jammu people for over 60 years and it will not allow those to hijack its agenda who betrayed the people when they were in Government.
Without naming Congress and NC, Dr Singh said 10 years back the previous Government did not took the AIIMS issue as priority after the then Union Government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee announced to upgrade the Jammu Medical College to AIIMS level. The foundation stone of the Hospital was laid and the building has been constructed but no one talked what happened to the proposal. But now they are making a hue and cry over the issue and BJP will not allow them to hijack the things, he added.
Dr Singh, who has always advocated that AIIMS be established at Jammu, asked has he at any given point said that the Institute should not be for Jammu.
He said it was he who pleaded for establishment of AIIMS at Jammu and film Institute in Arunachal Pradesh before Finance Minister, Arun Jaitely and he also complimented the Finance Minister for making the announcement in his budget speech.
He regretted that unfortunately a controversy has been created over the issue as BJP stands by CMP which is foe equitable development of all three regions.
On the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley where mobile towers have been installed and flags of Pakistan are being waved by separatists, Dr Singh said every time some vested interests and parties try to do politics through separatist means to have one political upmanship over the other. The authorities should take cognizance of it and not allow the same to happen in future, he added.
On recent statement of Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani who said that Pak flags will continue to unfurl in Kashmir, Dr Singh said Government disapproves this statement and the authorities will take an exemplary action against the Hurriyat hardliner for making such statements.
On revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Dr Singh said the decision should be left to security agencies as it is their subject and they can say a last word on it. He said decision on its revocation will be taken only after inputs of the security agencies.
Dr Singh also took serious exception to the canards being spread in the State that farmers compensation cheques’ had come from Union Government and were signed by Finance Minister. Terming it a non-serious statement, Dr Singh said Centre gives funds for package or compensation and not individual cheques.“The media should court martial them who make such non serious statements”, he added.
Admitting that BJP is part of State Government but it does not mean that people will make non serious statements, he said, if some one says that Mr Jaitely has issued a cheque it is laughable.
On Summer Secretariat, the Union Minister said that he was informed that State Government has revoked its earlier decision and Summer Secretariat will also function at Jammu.
Dr Singh also made it clear that joining the coalition in the State was a political compulsion for BJP as people otherwise would have said that being a largest party it shirked the responsibility of sharing power. “ We have entered alliance to fulfill our democratic obligation and not compromised our ideology for which Party founder late Shama Parasad Mookerjee laid down his life on the soil of J&K” he added.
Highlighting one year achievements of Modi Government he said on May 26 last year when Mr Modi took over with a small group of Ministers there was a Sun rise at Sun set and optimism every side.
He said during the one year of Mr Modi’s rule India is being looked up as global power of tomorrow. Maintaining that Modi Government is going to stay and this goes very well with India’s mission to emerge world power.
He said there has been such an impact of Prime Minister world over that in UNO he said that world should observe Yog day and all supported it.
Criticizing the opposition for trying to find a fault with functioning of NDA Government, Dr Singh said “we present evidence based account of our achievements during the last one year”.
He said the growth rate which was 8.4 percent during Vajpayee rule had come down to four percent during UPA time and now it has increased again. For development new schemes were started and prices are under check, he added.
He said in coal sector which registered a loss of 1.66 lakh crore during UPA time, earned a profit of Rs 2 lakh crore during one year rule of Mr Modi and that too after auctioning only 33 coal mines out of 200.
He said Jan Dhan Yojna, social security schemes and many welfare schemes were launched for farmers like declaring of un -seasonal rains damaging the crops as natural calamity etc.
Later addressing a press conference in Srinagar the Minister said that the part of the problem in Kashmir valley is due to the lack of trust on youth. He said that the BJP government soon after its takeover abolished the attestation of documents by the Gazetted officers and instead asked for self attestation. “By this we have reposed trust on the youth of the country. Earlier, we were hesitant to trust people and part of the problem in Kashmir is lack of trust on youth”, he said.
Dr Singh said that there should be no politics on the Amarnath yatra as the environmental experts have already made it clear that there is no threat to environment in the area due to the yatra. “The geological experts report says the Yatra can be conducted round the year but weather is the constraint”, he added.
The BJP leader said that the environmentalists have already made it clear that there is no threat to the environment due to Yatra. However, he said that the duration of the yatra is decided by the Shrine Board.
The Minister said that he favours that AIIMS should also be given to Jammu as the institute is given to Kashmir Valley for the better healthcare facilities of the State.
Replying to a question, about the financial assistance provided by Central government to State government for the rehabilitation of flood victims, he said that Rs 2926 crores have been provided by them to State government for the rehabilitation of flood victims.
Dr Singh said that out of the money an amount of Rs. 134.30 Crore have been released from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund till April for distribution among the flood victims who have lost their kacha or pucca houses. He also said that the first installment of Central Contribution of State Disaster Relief Force amounting to Rs 114.50 crore was also released in April.
The Minister did not say anything whether or not the central government has accepted, the proposal of Rs 44, 000 crores flood assistance package of State Government. He, however, said: “there is no dearth of funds. Everytime demand is made and it is being sent.”
On the recent attacks on mobile towers, the minister said that such attacks are only creating problems to the people and no one is getting benefited out of it.
On the achievements of the Government the Minister said that the biggest achievement of the government so far has been that the reputation of the country at the international level has received a boost.
The BJP leader said that the government is looking for innovative ideas all the time to make the process of governance effective and people friendly, and every effort is being made to reach out to the common people and get feedback from them.
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