Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the Modi government believes in 'politics of development' and not 'politics in development' while urging Bihar minister Tejashwi Yadav to provide suitable land for the construction of AIIMS in Darbhanga.
The comments come after Yadav, who holds the health portfolio in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 'safed jhooth' (blatant lie) in his address earlier in the day when he spoke of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the north Bihar district of Darbhanga.
'It is an outright lie on part of the PM to have made a mention of AIIMS at Darbhanga, which is yet to be constructed. He reminds me of Union Home Minister Amit Shah who some time ago boasted of Purnea airport, which is far from functional, as one of the achievements of the government,' Yadav told PTI video.
'The fact is, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had taken the initiative for AIIMS, Darbhanga and a piece of land, suitably located just a few kilometres from a national highway, was also allocated. But the Centre threw a spanner by claiming the location of the land was not convenient,' he added.
The young RJD leader also expressed his dismay over the Centre's sudden change of mind in a telephonic conversation with Mandaviya and shared a copy of a letter he wrote to the latter in this regard on his social media handles.
Responding to Yadav's claims, Mandaviya said the Modi government 'does not do politics in development but does politics of development'.
Saying the Centre's intention is clear, the Union health minister said the permission for AIIMS Darbhanga was given by the Modi government on September 19, 2020 and the first land was given by the Bihar government on November 3, 2021.
'After this you came to the government and changed this place on April 30, 2023 while doing politics,' he said in a series of tweets.
Mandaviya said the expert committee inspected the land and checked it according to the rules.
On May 26, 2023, the health ministry sent a letter to the Bihar government informing that the second land provided by it is not suitable for the construction of AIIMS, he said, attaching a copy of the letter along with his tweet.
'You tell me why the land was changed, in whose interest was it changed?' he asked.
'What did your own MLA say in the Bihar Legislative Assembly about the unsuitable land given for AIIMS? Come out of politics and immediately give proper place for construction of AIIMS! We are ready to build AIIMS in Bihar,' Mandaviya said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Modi spoke of AIIMS, Darbhanga in his address, via video conference, to the Panchayati Raj Parishad in West Bengal. He made a mention of the proposed hospital while underscoring that premier health centres were set up in all parts of the country to ensure that people did not have to travel long distances for medical treatment.