MADURAI: Madurai will get a state-of-theart All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised on Friday. Besides this, medical colleges will be set up at one in three districts of Tamil Nadu, more UG and PG seats will be offered, and medical and technical courses will be taught in local languages, he asserted.
Modi made these promises during a public meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at Amma Thidal here. Sharing the dais with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and other leaders, he began his campaign for the elections by chanting “Vetri Vel Veera Vel”. Alleging that the Congress and DMK have mastered the art of not working but spreading lies about those who work, he said, “One example is the issue of AIIMS.
Despite being in power for many years, they didn’t even think of bringing AIIMS to Madurai. It was our government that did it.” Modi added that the project would ensure quality healthcare for people of the region. The DMK and Congress pretend to be the only custodians of Tamil culture, but their actions contradict their words, he alleged, and added: “In 2011, the UPA came to power in Delhi. The same UPA government banned jallikattu. A UPA leader even called it a barbaric practice. In 2016, the TN Congress manifesto called for a ban on jallikattu. They should be ashamed of it.”
Want youth to be job creators: Modi
Modi then pointed out that the BJP government cleared the ordinance brought by the AIADMK government allowing jallikattu. On the issues of Devendra Kula Vellalar community, he said the DMK-Congress government preferred to keep them hanging for decades, but the AIADMK and BJP ensured the dignity of the community was upheld. “A DMK-led government won’t guarantee safety or dignity for you either. Law and order will suffer under them,” he said, and went on to call Madurai the DMK mafia den. “Madurai teaches important lessons on empowering women.
We see it in the way Meenakshi Amman is worshipped and Kannagi, Rani Mangammal and Rani Velu Natchiyar are respected. However, the DMK-Congress alliance has not understood the ethos of Madurai. No wonder DMK leaders keep insulting women,” Modi added. Speaking about the benefits of voting for the NDA, the Prime Minister said, “A vote for the NDA is a vote for better investment in this region. We are creating the right atmosphere for more industries to come in, particularly agro-based industries that to help farmers. Food-processing is another focus area.
We want youngsters in Tamil Nadu to be job creators.” He also promised that seven textile parks would be established in three years under the Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) scheme. Later in the day, while campaigning in Nagercoil district, Modi said that the Central government will give emphasis to the Mumbai-Kanniyakumari Economic Corridor and will spend Rs 1 lakh crore for infrastructure in Tamil Nadu. Promising development for the Kanniyakumari he said, “We want to promote traditional industries as they have a potential to become global products. The NDA government has adopted a comprehensive approach to developing our coasts and empower our fishermen,. Our model for coastal developed has three pillars increase opportunities through port related development, increase capacity in current ports and develop new ports.”