Nadda stresses BJP-govt's commitment for poll-bound TN's welfare

BJP chief J P Nadda on Thursdayunderlined his party-led Central government's commitment forpoll-bound Tamil Nadu's welfare and listed Centre's variousmeasures taken for the state, including sanctioning of an AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences and the Chennai-Bengalurudefence corridor.

Participating in the 'Namma Ooru Pongal' celebrations,organised by the party's state unit on the occasion of theharvest festival, Nadda asked cadres to ensure that Centre'scampaign of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' also works in Tamil Nadu.

His visit assumes significance as the state assemblypolls are likely in April-May.

Clad in traditional white shirt and dhoti, Nadda wasaccorded a warm welcome by party functionaries led by Statepresident L Murugan at the airport.

Speaking briefly in Tamil initally, Nadda said TamilNadu was a land of saints and sages who have contributed tohumanity and the state has got a rich culture.

''I remember Saint Thiruvalluvar's contribution which isnot only to Tamil Nadu but to the whole country. Tamil is theworld's oldest language and Tamil Nadu is proud of it.'' ''In the same way, famous Kings of Cheras, Cholas,Pandiyas, Pallavas have contributed in the development ofTamil Nadu,'' he said.

Religious sentiments have also been taken care of byreligious leaders and saints.

''I always say that all the 63 Nayanmars (saivitesaints) and 12 Alwars (Vaishnavite saints) are from the landof Tamil Nadu which we have to remember. We feel proud ofit,'' he said.

On the role of Tamil Nadu in the independencemovement, he recalled the valiant efforts of freedom fighterslike 'Tirupur' Kumaran, Subramanya Bharathi, Velunachiyar,and V O Chidambaram Pillai.

Referring to Tamil poet Kaniyan Poongundranar's lines'Yathum Oorae, Yavarum keleer'(we belong to all places, andto everyone), Nadda said India was proud when Prime MinisterNarendra Modi referred to these lines in the United Nationsassembly.

''That is the love and affection which Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has for Tamil Nadu. Time and again he speaksabout the poets and poems of Tamil Nadu at the internationalforums,'' he said.

On initiative for the state's welfare, he said theCentre has taken care of Tamil Nadu so that it takes a bigleap in development.

''...The 13th Finance Commission during UPA governmentgave Rs 94,000 crore to Tamil Nadu for development. But the14th Finance Commission under the NDA government gave Rs 5.42lakh crore...this shows what feeling the Prime Minister hasfor the people of Tamil Nadu,'' he said.

On tapping the silk and textile industry in the state,Nadda said, ''the central government has allotted Rs 1,600crore for the development of textiles. This is AtmanirbharBharat, this is vocal for local.'' Nadda said 94 lakh of people from Tamil Nadu have joinedJan Dhan Yojana scheme while 30 lakh gas connections wereprovided to beneficiaries in the State under the Centre'sUjjvala Yojana scheme.

As many as 30 lakh LED bulbs were distributed to thestate under the LED bulb scheme launched by the Centre.

On the proposed Defence Corridor between Chennai andBengaluru, Nadda said it was not only a defence corridor but'opening of an economic corridor' for the State.

The Centre has also earmarked Rs 2,800 crore for theChennai Metro Rail extension programme in Chennai and anotherRs 3,267 crore for Monorail programme, he said.

Noting that 12 cities in the state would be upgradedto smart cities, he said, when he was the Union HealthMinister the Centre accorded the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences for TN at an investment of Rs 1,300 crore.

''World class AIIMS hospital is coming to Madurai.

Nearly 100 seats will be there for MBBS and more than 100seats will be allocated for staff nurses,'' he said.

Besides the AIIMS hospital in Madurai, the Centre alsoapproved setting up of 11 medical colleges in the state.

On disbursement of loans under Pradhan Mantri MUDRAYojana Scheme, he said highest number of beneficiaries werefrom Tamil Nadu in which 48 lakh accounts were opened andRs 50,000 crore was spent for the scheme in the state.

Nadda said during the COVID-19 pandemic the westernworld which had better health facilities 'collapsed' while PMModi led the country against COVID-19 from the front.

Prime Minister took the decision for lockdown and madethe country prepare for the fight against the outbreak, hesaid, adding, during the outbreak there was not (even) onededicated hospital for COVID-19 in the country.

''Now we have got 2,500 plus dedicated hospitals forCOVID-19. During the pandemic, we did not manufacturepersonal protection equipment (PPE) kits..today the countrymanufactures five lakh PPE per day. This is AtmanirbharBharat.'' Testing of samples, which was 1,500 per day during theinitial part of the pandemic,has increased to 5 lakh perday now. India has got the maximum recovery rate from theinfection which is more than 97 per cent, he said.

It shows how the country has fought from the front.

In line with the efforts taken by the Centre, Naddasaid Tamil Nadu's health infrastructure did the same and alsoresponded in fighting the pandemic.

Referring to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, hesaid Rs 20 lakh crore have to be spent and one has to ensurefarmers take advantage of it in agriculture developmentthrough farmers producers' organisation.

Later, speaking at the 51st anniversary of Tamilmagazine 'Thughlaq,' he said BJP hopes to cash in on thegrowing popularity and support for Modi in poll-bound TamilNadu and ensure it replicated its success in the electionsheld recently in various parts of the nation.

There is tremendous appreciation and support for Modi inmainstream Tamil Nadu for his pro-people initiatives, hesaid.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)