‘Not a doctor, but had to do surgery’: In poll-bound Gujarat, Modi shares his cure pill

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Gujarat was afflicted by many diseases two decades ago, and it was his government that carried out a surgery to change the old system.

“As we discuss the healthcare sector of the state, I wish to talk about a major journey. This journey is the one riddled with different types of disease, and their cure. You might think, why is Modi talking about diseases in a healthcare-related programme? I will tell you,” he told a gathering in the poll-bound state.

“I was not a doctor, but there were several diseases that I had to treat and cure,” he added.

“The Gujarat administration was afflicted with multiple diseases some 20-25 years ago. These included backwardness in the healthcare system, poor organisation of educational facilities and lack of electricity, water scarcity, poor law and order,” Modi said.

Modi, who served as the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 before taking the national leap, further said the biggest disease of all was ‘the vote bank politics’.

“We are carrying out this ‘Mukti Yagna' campaign to cure this disease,” he told the people in the rally.

"A doctor usually advises three methods to cure a disease- medicines, surgery and proper care. Our government also implemented all three to cure the state. Surgery means carrying out a change in the old system. My way of surgery is taking scissors to inaction, sloppiness and corruption. Then comes medicine, which means making new efforts every day to develop new systems, human resources, infrastructure, innovation, and building new hospitals. And the third is care, which is the most important part of improving Gujarat's health sector," the PM said.

On the third-day of his visit to Gujarat, Modi launched healthcare facilities worth ₹1,275 crore at the Civil Hospital (Asarwa) in Ahmedabad. The projects include launch of new and improved facilities for cardiac care and a new hostel building in the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, new hospital building of the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre, and the new building of the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute.

(With agency inputs)