Credit and power-hungry people did much harm to country: Modi hits out at Cong

Guwahati (Assam): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that due to the "credit-hungry" nature of previous regimes, the Northeast had been lacking in development for many years.

Launching a frontal attack on the Congress without taking its name, Modi, while inaugurating the first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of the northeast, at Changsari, Guwahati, said that due to their credit-hungry nature, they felt that the Northeast was too far to make any efforts.

"We do not need credit. The BJP worked with seva-bhav and you can see the change. Today, anyone who comes to Assam and the Northeast for the first time talks about the enormous development that the region has witnessed in the last few years," he asserted.

At a series of functions here, Modi claimed that in the last nine years since his government came to power, the definition of connectivity had been changed bringing the Northeast nearer to the rest of the country.

The Prime Minister also said: "Along with better connectivity, the Northeast is now witnessing a change in the social sector too."

Modi accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also witnessed a mega-Bihu dance performance where more than 11,000 dancers and drummers performed at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, which made it to the Guinness World Records.

He also inaugurated the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Gauhati High Court, Modi emphasised that technology needs to be brought into play to speed up the justice delivery system, especially in remote areas such as in the Northeast. “Technology can help bring justice to remote areas such as in the northeast,” he said.

Referring to his commitment to the people of Assam at the AIIMS event, Modi said, "We work with the spirit of being your servants. That is why the Northeast does not seem far to us and the feeling of belongingness remains regardless of where we are. Today, people in the Northeast have come forward and taken ownership of their development. They are moving forward with the mantra of development."

In his continued tirade against the Opposition, Modi said, "Instead of catering to a particular vote bank, we are focused on reducing the difficulties of the people of the country. We want to ensure that our brothers and sisters do not have to travel far for treatment. We are also working to ensure that no poor person has to stop his treatment for want of money."

He said: "I understand that having no money for treatment is a big worry for the poor and therefore, we launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. I know that expensive medicines are a big concern for the poor and the middle class and therefore, our government opened more than 9,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras for access to affordable medicines."

He said the NDA government had built about 300 medical colleges. MBBS seats had doubled to more than 1 lakh. "We started to build 15 AIIMS campuses and today at least more than 50 per cent of them are functional. The teaching of medical courses and providing treatment began in those institutes."

The Prime Minister also inaugurated three new medical colleges in Assam along with laying the foundation for a multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art hospital at IIT Guwahati.