The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral calculations are reportedly playing a role in the Centre dragging its feet on the Kerala government’s proposal to set up an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the State.
With the Lok Sabha polls just months away, the Union government again placing the proposal on the back burner has led to speculations about the BJP’s plans to gain political mileage out of it. Replying to questions from M.K. Raghavan and M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, MPs, in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar said on December 15 that the proposal has not been approved in the current phase of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
The Minister also said that the State government had identified and proposed Kinalur in Kozhikode district, Kattakada taluk in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kottayam district and Ernakulam district for setting up the AIIMS in the State.
BJP State president K. Surendran had earlier sought the AIIMS to be set up in Kasaragod district. He had fought Lok Sabha and Assembly elections from there in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2021. It has been pointed out that Mr. Surendran wants the institute to come up in Kasaragod as it will be politically beneficial to him in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
However, C. Krishnakumar, BJP State general secretary from Palakkad, earlier this month launched an action council seeking the AIIMS for his home district, which is lagging behind in health infrastructure. Those behind the action council point out that the possibility of developing the Government Medical College, Palakkad, as an AIIMS can be explored too. They also claim that Palakkad is the ideal place for the institute as it has good connectivity, and availability of water and energy resources.
Meanwhile, the Kozhikode district committee of the BJP too is in the race to bring the AIIMS here. Some of the district leaders had earlier claimed that Mr. Surendran would lobby for setting it up in Kozhikode, his home district. The BJP district committee, in July, came up with a poster thanking Prime Minister Modi for “realising the AIIMS dreams of Kerala” by approving the proposal for Kozhikode.
The State government, however, has already clarified that if the AIIMS is set up in Kerala, it will be definitely in Kozhikode. During the Kozhikode leg of the recently concluded Navakerala Sadas, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also criticised the Centre for ignoring the State’s demand. The State Industries department has already handed over around 150 acres at Kinalur in Kozhikode to the Health department for the institute. Another 40.68 hectares are being acquired from private persons for future development as well. V. Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, is yet to make his stand public on the proposal.
