Pathanamthitta/Palakkad (Keralam) | Keralam Health Minister K Muraleedharan and his predecessor Veena George on Thursday alleged that it was a political decision of the Centre to deny an AIIMS to the state.
Muraleedharan, speaking to reporters in Palakkad, said that the Centre keeps making excuses to deny AIIMS to Keralam and it was due to political differences with the dispensation in the state.
He questioned whether the health infrastructure was poor in Delhi where an AIIMS is present.
The minister said that initially the Centre said that only one location was provided by the state, so more sites were provided.
"So, now they have come with a new excuse," he said.
He was referring to the Centre's submission in the Kerala High Court that under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), an AIIMS for Keralam has not been included in any budget announcement.
The Centre had also told the court that it was prioritising states with weaker healthcare for setting up AIIMS, and Keralam has good healthcare infrastructure.
Muraleedharan said that the state government welcomes an AIIMS anywhere in Keralam and that he will write to Union Health Minister J P Nadda and will try to meet him also after going through the Kerala HC proceedings in the matter.
His predecessor, George, told media in Pathanamthitta that during the LDF government's time, all requisite documents as mandated by the Centre for setting up an AIIMS were submitted.
She said that she was not surprised by the Centre's stand in the court on the AIIMS issue as during the last five years the government had received several such replies from them.
She also said that whenever the previous government asked for a nursing college in the state or upgrading of district hospitals, especially in Wayanad, to a medical college with central financial assistance, the same was denied saying that Keralam does not require it.
"It is a political decision of the Centre to deny an AIIMS to Keralam. It is a denial of justice to Keralam to not give it an AIIMS merely because the state has improved its health infrastructure.
"The Centre needs to correct its stand and AIIMS should be given to Keralam," she said.