Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 3: Former Chief Minister and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah today proposed that an all party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir be formed to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the demand of setting up of an AIIMS in Jammu.
Abdullah made an impromptu appearance at the AIIMS Coordination Committee’s protest site here and addressed its supporters.
“I propose an all party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for breaking the impasse over the establishment of an additional and full- fledged AIIMS for Jammu,” he said.
“Both the divisions need AIIMS and there should be no hitch for the Centre to take an immediate decision with regard to providing the facility for Jammu, after having announced it for Kashmir,” Abdullah, who is on a three-day visit to Jammu province, said.
The initiative of the all party delegation will be taken by the people as the Government has “failed” in projecting the issue in a right perspective, he said amid huge applause from the ACC supporters.
ACC, an amalgamation of over 70 organisations, has been leading an agitation for setting up of AIIMS in Jammu region.
He said that AIIMS for both the divisions is not a favour but a requirement in view of inadequate health infrastructure.
“We will meet the Prime Minister and make a strong case for the consideration of Parliamentarians so that issue is not delayed further,” the National Conference president said.
The former Chief Minister expressed concern over “inept” handling of the issue by the coalition Government, saying that the “finer sensitivities involved in the matter have not been taken into consideration”.
He said the State has peculiar problems and needed a special dispensation.
Dr Abdullah hoped that the commitment made to the people of Jammu will be kept and an additional AIIMS announced without further delay.
“National Conference has a very clear stand on the issue,” he said, adding “while we welcome the announcement of AIIMS for Kashmir, we strongly plead for similar facility in Jammu.”
Later, in an informal interaction with the party functionaries at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here, Abdullah said “NC has a track-record of standing for just cause of the people of the State and would knock every door to ensure that the urges and aspirations of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are satiated.”
He urged the party cadre to further intensify the mass contact programme so that the problems of the people are highlighted at appropriate quarters for seeking redressal.
As soon as Farooq reached the ACC protest site, he asked the protesters to raise the slogan — ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ (Long live Mother India).
“Repeat after me, Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” he said to the crowd who repeated it after him.
Amid slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, Farooq said, “I want to tell you one thing that AIIMS should be established here as well and that too very soon.
“People here are not that rich and cannot afford to go to Delhi, Chandigarh and Mumbai for treatment. Hence, the demand to have AIIMS in Jammu is genuine,” he said.
Recalling the tenure of NC, Farooq said, “When our party was in power, we got two separate Central Universities sanctioned for both the regions of the State.”
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