In poll mode, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday laid the foundation stones of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bilaspur and an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), besides dedicating a steel processing plant of the Steel Authority of India (SAIl) at Kandroori in Hamirpur constituency to the nation.
On a day long visit to Himachal Pradesh, Modi landed at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium at Bilaspur, where he was welcomed by former Chief Ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal with Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and local MP Anurag Thakur.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh accompanying Governor Acharya Dev Vrat, welcomed Modi at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Virbhadra Singh presented a Himachali Cap, shawl and painting to Modi before he laid the foundation stone of AIIMS and IIIT. State Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, BJP president Satpal Singh Satti and Transport Minister G. S. Bali, Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur etc. were also present on the occasion.
Modi laid the foundation stone of AIIMS, which is proposed to be built up on an area of 205 acre at Kothipura. The 750 bedded health facility would cost Rs 1,350 crore and produce 100 MBBS doctors and 60 nurses every year. The institute is expected to be commissioned in four years.
The Prime Minister also laid foundation stone of IIIT to be established at Salho in Una. The institute is to come up at 69 acres and would cost around Rs 128 crore. Modi also dedicated the steel plant of SAIl, which was constructed under the Make in India mission. The plant, where steel bars would be produced, has been constructed with a cost of Rs 70 crore. The plant has 1 lac tonne production capacity per year.
Addressed a rally organised by BJP at luhnu ground on banks of Govind Sagar Dam in Bilaspur, Modi said AIIMS would not only benefit people of Himachal, but also the tourists coming from all across the world.
He said that due to the topography of the State, accidents in the State are fatal in nature and presence of a world class health institute like AIIMS, the State would be able to provide best health facility to its residents and tourists and it would boost the scope of tourism in the State.
He said the institute would provide employment to a large number of people as around 3,000 people would work in the campus of the institute. Referring to IIIT, Modi said that the institute of Information Technology will lead the State to new levels of advancement and modernisation.
Taking on Chief Minster Virbhadra Singh in his address, Modi said that the family of Chief Minister was on bail and the Congress seems to be running a Government on bail. He said that it was high time the Congress was ousted from the State.
Targeting Virbhadra Singh, Modi said that a man on bail in a corruption case was running the State Government and was making claims of good governance. He said, the level of governance could be imagined where a person on bail was taking all the decisions for the Government.
Taking a dig at Congress high command, Modi said that Congress did not remove Singh from CM’s post as party President Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, too were on bail in National Herald case.
Comparing his government with the previous UPA Government, Modi said that lands, mines, rivers, sky and see was not spared free from corruption during the UPA regime, while in the three years of NDA, not a single charge of corruption had been leveled against any one in his Government. He said that Congress gave Coal block, 2G and ISRO etc. scams to the country.
Modi said the steel plant dedicated to the nation could have been started in 2014 had it not stuck in bureaucratic hurdles. He said he himself cleared the bottlenecks of the project by convening meeting with Chief Secretary through video conferencing. The Prime Minister said he recently cleared Nangal-Talwara Rail broad gauge link project, which had been hanging fire for years. He said road, power and hydro power were the growth engines of the hill state and13 projects, worth Rs 1,500 crore were being funded by the Central Government for giving a push to growth in the State. He said that AIIMS, road and power projects would attract more tourists to this hill State.