Modi lays foundation stone for AIIMS Darbhanga; showers praise on Nitish Kumar

Darbhanga, Bihar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday showered accolades on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, praising the alliance partner for bringing in good governance in a state which was previously reeling under "jungle raj".

Modi made a veiled attack on the Congress-RJD combine—without mentioning it by name—at a function in Darbhanga, a town in north Bihar, where he laid the foundation stone for an AIIMS and inaugurated projects worth more than Rs 12,000 crore.

In the course of his address, which lasted around 40 minutes, the Prime Minister referred to Kumar, whose JD(U) played a crucial role in enabling the NDA's return to power in the parliamentary elections earlier this year, as "lokpriya mukhyamantri" (popular chief minister).

Modi said, "Nitish babu has set up a model of sushasan (good governance)." He added, "No praise is too high for him (jitni saraahna ki jaae kam hai) for his contribution in pulling Bihar out of the era of jungle raj. Now, under the NDA's double engine government, the state is making rapid, all-round progress."

He also lambasted the previous regimes in the state, ruled by the Congress-RJD combine for 15 years before the NDA assumed power in 2005, for hoodwinking the people with "false (jhoothe) promises".

Earlier, Kumar had thanked the PM for AIIMS, Darbhanga, even as he recalled having first made request for the super specialty hospital in the north Bihar town with late BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

The PM began his speech with a reference to the assembly polls underway in Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar two-and-a-half decades ago, and hoped that people in the tribal state would come out to to vote in large numbers.

Modi asserted that his government worked with a "holistic approach" towards healthcare that was distinct from the previous Congress regimes which were marked by "only one functional AIIMS in Delhi, with no treatment facilities available in the barely four and five other such facilities elsewhere in the country".

"Today, we have more than two dozen AIIMS across the country. Healthcare is being made available to people of weaker sections through 1.5 lakh 'Aaryogya mandirs'". Besides, more than four crore people have benefited from the Ayushman Bharat scheme", the Prime Minister said.

Modi also highlighted his government's efforts to increase the number of doctors by allowing pursuit of courses in medicine in Hindi and other vernacular languages besides "adding 75,000 new seats" in medical colleges across the country.

Known for his penchant for connecting with the people by peppering his speeches with local flavour, the PM referred to inclusion of Maithili, spoken in large parts of north Bihar, in eight schedule of the Constitution.

He also spoke of other steps taken by the Centre to promote Bihar's cultural heritage like giving classical language status to Pali.

Modi also underscored that his government's policies would give a boost to export of freshwater fish and foxnuts (makhana), which are produced in abundance in Mithila region.

He also paid tributes to folk singer Sharda Sinha, who hailed from Supaul district in Mithila and passed away last week.

The PM also recalled the contributions of late Kameshwar Singh, a renowned philanthropist who was the last ruler of the princely state of Darbhanga, and remarked "even in my parliamentary constituency (Varanasi) people keep talking of his generosity".

Modi said projects like AIIMS Darbhanga will enable the people of not just Bihar but neighbouring areas in West Bengal and Nepal to avail quality medical service "instead of making a beeline to Mumbai and Delhi".

However, AICC media panelist Prem Chandra Mishra came out with a statement, pointing out, "it has taken eight years for the Centre to wake up from its sleep and lay the foundation stone for AIIMS Darbhanga after an in-principle approval. We hope the construction will take place at a more respectable speed".

The Prime Minister also touched upon the problem of floods that ravage the Kosi-Mithila region every year, saying his government was making "honest" (imaandaar) efforts to solve the problem by holding necessary discussions with Nepal, besides drawing a detailed plan involving Rs 11,000 crore to tackle the calamity.

Others who were present at the function in Darbhanga included Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Union ministers Chirag Paswan and Nityanand Rai and Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.