National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday proposed an All Party Delegation from Jammu and Kashmir to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for breaking the impasse on the establishment of an additional and full-fledged All India Institute of Medical Sciences for Jammu.“Both the divisions need AIIMS and there should be no hitch for the Centre to take an immediate decision with regard to providing the facility for Jammu, after having announced it for Kashmir”, Dr Farooq Abdullah said while addressing the supporters of AIIMS Coordination Committee (ACC) this afternoon, after making an impromptu appearance at the Dharna site immediately after his arrival from Srinagar on a three-day visit of the Jammu Province.
Amid huge applause by the enthusiastic ACC supporters, he said the initiative of the All Party Delegation will be taken by the people, as the government has failed in projecting the issue in a right perspective. He said AIIMS for both the divisions is not a favour but a requirement in view of inadequate health infrastructure.Accompanied by Provincial President Devender Singh Rana and State Vice President Surjeet Singh Slathia, the NC President supported the demand of ACC and expressed solidarity with those sitting on Dharna, saying “We will meet the Prime Minister and make out a strong case for the consideration of parliamentarians so that further delay is not made on this important issue.”The former Chief Minister expressed anguish over inept handling of the issue by coalition government, saying the finer sensitivities involved in the matter have not been taken into consideration. He said Jammu and Kashmir has peculiar problems and these need special dispensation. He hoped that the commitment made to the people of Jammu will be kept and an additional AIIMS announced without further delay.
“National Conference has a very clear stand on the issue”, he said adding that, “while we welcome the announcement of AIIMS for Kashmir, we strongly plead for similar facility in Jammu”. He declared that his party would fight for this cause.
Later, in an informal interaction with the party functionaries at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here, Dr Abdullah said National Conference has a track-record of standing for just cause of the people of the State and would knock every door to ensure that the urges and aspirations of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are satiated.He urged the cadre to further intensify the mass contact programme, so that the problems of the people are highlighted at appropriate quarters for seeking redressal.Senior NC leaders and functionaries of the Women Wing, Youth Wing and ST/OBC Cell were present during the interaction.