GJ-AIIMS-CONFUSION

No clarity on whether Gujarat will get AIIMS or not
    Ahmedabad, Dec 18 (PTI) Although some political
leaders in Gujarat claimed that the Centre has cleared a
proposal to set up AIIMS in Rajkot city, an official release
by the central government did not mention name of any city in
the state that will get this facility.
    Senior BJP leaders, including the party's state unit
chief Jitu Vaghani and Energy Minister Saurabh Patel
congratulated people of Rajkot saying the Centre has given a
clearance to establish All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) in the city.
    "In Ahmedabad, the state government has provided
various medical facilities. In Surat also world-class medical
facilities are available. In such circumstances it is good
that an institute like AIIMS is being established in Rajkot,"
Vaghani told reporters in Jasdan in Rajkot district.
    Talking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Saurabh Patel
said, "I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for
giving AIIMS to Rajkot."
    However, a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release
issued on Monday said establishment of AIIMS at Tamil Nadu and
Telangana have been approved by the Union cabinet chaired by
the prime minister.
    Meanwhile, leaders from Rajkot and Vadodara regions
are gunning for the premier medical facility to be set up in
their respective regions.
    Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had earlier
warned the leaders from both the regions that if they
continued to fight, the state might lose establishment of such
a premier medical facility.
    "The chief minister of the state is from Saurashtra
and the party president is also from that region. Therefore,
they are flexing their political muscles and trying to bring
AIIMS in their area. Actually Vadodara is the right place for
this facility," BJP MLA Yogesh Patel, representing Manjalpur
constituency in Vadodara district said.
    City Congress chief Narendra Rawat said, "Vadodara is
the right place to establish AIIMS as it will serve the
population of entire state from here."
    Congress leader from Rajkot Hemang Vasavda, however,
said that AIIMS should come up in Rajkot as the entire
Saurashtra region lacks this kind of medical facility.
    State Congress president Amit Chavda, who hails from
central Gujarat said both- Vadodara and Rajkot- should get one
AIIMS each.
    "As the PM is from Gujarat, we want to know why is he
not giving AIIMS to both Rajkot and Vadodara. We will welcome
his decision, if he does so," Chavda said. PTI PD
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