Bathinda: A credit war has started between Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party regarding the AIIMS built by the Central Government in Bathinda. There is a competition among the leaders of both the parties to take the credit for the construction of AIIMS. Shrimom. Akali Dal candidate from Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency and three-time MP Bibi Harsimrat Kaur Badal is continuously agitating for the construction of AIIMS in Bathinda. He claims that he had to rush a lot for the construction of AIIMS in Bathinda. He says that if he had shown some laxity, this would not have happened in AIIMS Bathinda. He said that Congress party leader Sukhpal Khaira had strongly opposed the establishment of AIIMS in Bathinda, but taking advantage of being a minister at the Centre, he got AIIMS constructed in Bathinda.
To take political advantage of the construction of AIIMS, posters have been put up by Shri Om. Akali Dal in villages and cities, in which credit for the construction of AIIMS has been taken, but cheap and good treatment has also been mentioned. Sarom. Akali Dal is seeking votes in the name of development from Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency, in which AIIMS and four-lane and six-lane roads are also mentioned. Overall, Sorm. Akali Dal candidate Bibi Harsimrat Kaur Badal is all set to get political benefits from AIIMS.
On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party is also taking credit for image building in Bathinda. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency Parampal Kaur Maluka said that AIIMS has been constructed by the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shrimoni Akali Dal has nothing to do with this. He said that the Central Government has given AIIMS in other states also, in the same sequence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given AIIMS in Punjab. He said that the Badal family has misled the central government to increase the value of their lands and shifted the construction of AIIMS to their villages. He said that during the Akali Dal government, the condition of civil hospitals was bad, but Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been winning by misleading people in the name of AIIMS, but this time people have become aware and Harsimrat Kaur Badal is helping people in the name of AIIMS. Kaur is winning by misleading the BJP and will not vote for Badal but for the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said that Akalis should not mislead people in the name of AIIMS, because AIIMS is the contribution of BJP. Parampal Kaur has also claimed that AIIMS-Bathinda was built with central funds and the recruitment of doctors was also done by the central ministry. This has nothing to do with the Punjab government. He also said that apart from AIIMS, the Central Government has also constructed Punjab Central University and airport in Bathinda. Let us tell you that the foundation stone of AIIMS in Bathinda, to be built at a cost of Rs 925 crore, was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016. Now after the construction of AIIMS, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated AIIMS in February 2024.
