JP Nadda’s comment on Madurai AIIMS sparks row

MADURAI: BJP national president J P Nadda’s statement that “95% work for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai is complete” has sparked a war of words between the BJP and other political parties in Tamil Nadu.

While two Lok Sabha members, Su Venkatesan of the CPM and B Manickam Tagore of the Congress, inspected the barren construction site at Austinpatti on Friday and released a video with placards saying ‘where is the 95% completed AIIMS’ written in Tamil, Nadda clarified that he was referring to the preparatory work for establishing the institute and not AIIMS construction work. 

“I am happy to share that Rs 1,264 crore was allotted for the AIIMS project. Today 95% of the work has been completed. Very soon it will be dedicated by the PM to the nation,” Nadda said during an event in Madurai on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Karaikudi on Friday, the BJP chief said, “I have seen some videos on my yesterday’s (Thursday) speech on AIIMS. I need not answer those questions. Annamalai is going to answer all those questions with facts. But I am going to request that you please have educated leaders. They should understand what I spoke. I did not say about construction of AIIMS, I meant pre-work for AIIMS”.

According to sources, the construction work of the institute is expected to be completed only by 2026. Classes for the first set of 50 MBBS students commenced temporarily on April 4 at the Ramanathapuram Government Medical College. This year, four associate professors and four assistant professors have been recruited on contract basis to handle classes.

Madurai MP Su Venkatesan on Friday said the Union health secretary had recently said preparatory work for Madurai AIIMS is not yet complete and Nadda’s claim about 95% work being complete was shocking. “We visited the site to see whether the BJP’s bulbul birds had completed all the work in one night,” the MP said. 

‘Madurai AII MS awaits funds’

“Aft er the visit, we came to know that even the signboard for construction work is not there. Last year, the Centre raised its contribution from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 1,970 crore for building Madurai AIIMS. Of that, the Centre’s share of `.100 crore allocation is yet to get approval from the parliament.

This delayed the tender work and this is the current situation of the institute,” Su Venkatesan said. Nadda’s claim about the Centre allocating Rs 540 crore for Madurai International Airport was also a lie and BJP State president Annamalai must produce the G.O. to prove the claim, the MP said. Congress MP B Manickam Tagore said Nadda’s lie is an example of how the BJP is cheating the people of TN and Madurai.

‘Allocation up but contribution delayed’ 
“Last year, the Union government raised allocation for AIIMS to `1,970 crore but its share of `100 crore is yet to be approved by parliament. This has delayed work,” Su Venkatesan said.

MADURAI: BJP national president J P Nadda’s statement that “95% work for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai is complete” has sparked a war of words between the BJP and other political parties in Tamil Nadu. While two Lok Sabha members, Su Venkatesan of the CPM and B Manickam Tagore of the Congress, inspected the barren construction site at Austinpatti on Friday and released a video with placards saying ‘where is the 95% completed AIIMS’ written in Tamil, Nadda clarified that he was referring to the preparatory work for establishing the institute and not AIIMS construction work.  “I am happy to share that Rs 1,264 crore was allotted for the AIIMS project. Today 95% of the work has been completed. Very soon it will be dedicated by the PM to the nation,” Nadda said during an event in Madurai on Thursday. Speaking to reporters in Karaikudi on Friday, the BJP chief said, “I have seen some videos on my yesterday’s (Thursday) speech on AIIMS. I need not answer those questions. Annamalai is going to answer all those questions with facts. But I am going to request that you please have educated leaders. They should understand what I spoke. I did not say about construction of AIIMS, I meant pre-work for AIIMS”. According to sources, the construction work of the institute is expected to be completed only by 2026. Classes for the first set of 50 MBBS students commenced temporarily on April 4 at the Ramanathapuram Government Medical College. This year, four associate professors and four assistant professors have been recruited on contract basis to handle classes. Madurai MP Su Venkatesan on Friday said the Union health secretary had recently said preparatory work for Madurai AIIMS is not yet complete and Nadda’s claim about 95% work being complete was shocking. “We visited the site to see whether the BJP’s bulbul birds had completed all the work in one night,” the MP said.  ‘Madurai AII MS awaits funds’ “Aft er the visit, we came to know that even the signboard for construction work is not there. Last year, the Centre raised its contribution from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 1,970 crore for building Madurai AIIMS. Of that, the Centre’s share of `.100 crore allocation is yet to get approval from the parliament. This delayed the tender work and this is the current situation of the institute,” Su Venkatesan said. Nadda’s claim about the Centre allocating Rs 540 crore for Madurai International Airport was also a lie and BJP State president Annamalai must produce the G.O. to prove the claim, the MP said. Congress MP B Manickam Tagore said Nadda’s lie is an example of how the BJP is cheating the people of TN and Madurai. ‘Allocation up but contribution delayed’  “Last year, the Union government raised allocation for AIIMS to `1,970 crore but its share of `100 crore is yet to be approved by parliament. This has delayed work,” Su Venkatesan said.