Udhaynidhi Stalin blames Centre for delay in construction of AIIMS at Madurai

ByHT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Chennai

Mar 24, 2021 04:04 PM IST

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DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s sarcasm added a touch of drama to the campaign in the Tamil Nadu assembly election on Tuesday as he blamed the Centre for the inordinate delay in the construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai where only a foundation stone has been laid so far

DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s sarcasm added a touch of drama to the campaign in the Tamil Nadu assembly election on Tuesday as he blamed the Centre for the inordinate delay in the construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai where only a foundation stone has been laid so far.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Udhayanidhi Stalin holds atop his campaign vehicle during an election rally in Sattur in Virudhunagar district on Tuesday. (PTI)

“Do you remember three years ago AIADMK and BJP started building AIIMS in Madurai? I’m coming from campaigning in Madurai and I’ve brought the AIIMS they built in my hands,” he said showing the brick which evoked laughter and applause amongst the crowd. “There was only one brick so I brought it along with me. Do we need a government like this?” Udhaynidhi said holding brick while campaigning for his party candidates in Virudhunagar district.

Also Read: In Tamil Nadu, the rise of MK Stalin’s son—Udhaynidhi Stalin

A few days earlier, his father and DMK president M K Stalin had vowed to expedite the construction of the AIIMS in Madurai. Stalin said that though the BJP-government had announced the project in 2014 in the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘hastily’ laid the foundation for the project only in 2019 ahead of the parliamentary polls and the project before it went into limbo.

On Tuesday, Udhaynidhi also targeted the Prime Minister on the Central Vista project. “He promised to give us a new India but we don’t have one. He’s wasting ₹10,000 crore of people’s money on building a new Parliament. Is it his father’s money?” he asked in retort as he is often criticised for his elevation in the party being Stalin’s son.

Udhaynidhi will be making his electoral debut from his grandfather and DMK founder M Karunanidhi’s Chennai constituency of Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni from where he was elected thrice.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan had recently informed the Rajya Sabha that construction work for AIIMS Madurai will start soon while responding to a question on its status by AIADMK leader in the Lok Sabha M Thambidurai.