DW BUREAU / Hisar

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the Narendra Modi government, over the past decade, has uplifted India's health infrastructure by taking a holistic approach to improving the health sector across the entire country.

Shah stated that health infrastructure has been improved from the primary to the tertiary level. He was addressing a gathering after unveiling a statue of Maharaja Agrasen at the Maharaja Agrasen Medical College campus in Agroha here. On the occasion, he also inaugurated the newly built ICU and laid the foundation stone for the postgraduate hostel.

Shah highlighted several initiatives of the Modi government taken in various fields. He mentioned that 25 crore people have been lifted out of poverty during the Modi government's tenure. Four crore houses have been built for the poor, providing shelter to 20 crore people, Shah said.

He also touched upon the central government's provision of free food grains to over 81 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the provision of toilets to every household under the Swachh Bharat Mission, cooking gas connections to the poor, and the provision of tap water to over 15 crore households, along with making treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh available for 60 crore people. Until 2014, 12 crore families in this country did not have toilets. Imagine the plight of girls in families without toilets, Shah said.

He also highlighted the progress made in medical infrastructure, stating, "In 2013-14, the Government of India's budget for the health sector was Rs 37,000 crore, and in 2025-26, it will be Rs 1.37 lakh crore." When Narendra Modi became PM, there were seven AIIMS in the country, six of which were set up during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government's time, and only one was set up during the Congress regime. Today, in 2024, there are 23 AIIMS, reflecting the improvement in the country's health infrastructure, he said.

He also mentioned that the number of medical colleges has increased from 387 to 766, and the number of MBBS seats has risen from 51,000 to 1.15 lakh. He added that 85,000 more seats will be added in the next five years.

There were 31,000 PG seats, which have now increased to 73,000, he said. PG seats will also increase in proportion to the increase in MBBS seats, he added.

There are 766 hospitals in 750 districts in the country, he mentioned. "It is the resolve of every BJP-ruled state that there will be at least one hospital in each district," he stated. "I am confident that in the next five years, there will be no district in the country without a medical college and hospital offering free medical treatment," he said.

Haryana was infamous for corruption in government jobs, he said, referring to the previous Congress regimes.

Due to casteism, one government would come and people from one region would get jobs, and when another government came, jobs would be given to people from a different region, he said.

"Nobody would get a job without a bribe," he asserted, emphasizing the corruption in jobs during previous governments.

Both 'Kharchi' (bribe) and 'Parchi' (favouritism) were needed for a job, he said.

Shah said that without 'Kharchi and Parchi', the BJP government provided government jobs and proved that in democracy, politics should not be done on the basis of caste.

In 10 years, sportspersons from Haryana won three times as many medals, he said. Despite being a small state, Haryana is the biggest producer of Basmati rice, he added. In the army, every 10th person hails from Haryana, he noted.

After Shah mentioned that 14 crops are bought at MSP in Haryana, Chief Minister Nayab Saini corrected him, saying 24 crops are bought at MSP. "Saini ji is very knowledgeable. Earlier, there were 14 crops, and let's applaud Saini ji for increasing the number of crops to 24," he said, also touching on several other initiatives of the BJP government in the state over the past 10 years.

"When you see Saini ji, he will appear calm (shaant), cheerful (hasmukh), and at the same time, he is also a tough (kathor) administrator. He holds full authority over the administration," he said.

Speaking about his meeting with Saini at his home before the Haryana assembly elections last year, Shah said that some decisions were made during the meeting. "I told Saini ji, it is difficult to do this in two or three months. He replied, 'It will be done, you do not worry,'" Shah shared.

Before the announcement of the assembly elections, all the proposed works were carried out by Saini, he noted.

"When a person from the public takes the reins of a state, the kind of change that takes place is best exemplified by our Nayab Saini. Therefore, whatever problem arises, he welcomes it and resolves it," he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, state BJP Chief Mohan Lal Badoli, state Health Minister Arti Singh Rao, Minister Ranbir Singh Gangwa, BJP MP from Kurukshetra Naveen Jindal, Chairperson Emeritus of the Jindal Group, Independent MLA from Hisar Savitri Jindal, former Rajya Sabha MP D.P. Vats, and others were present on the occasion.

Earlier in his speech, Shah lauded Haryana's contributions in several fields, despite being a small state geographically. He also extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Guru Angad. The Sikh Gurus have made unparalleled sacrifices for humanity and the country, he said.

He mentioned Maharaja Agrasen, saying he established many principles for good governance and that people were prosperous during his rule.

(editor@dailyworld.in)