Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Gujarat was at the top when it came to hi-tech hospitals as he laid the foundation stones of healthcare facilities worth around Rs 1,275 crore in Ahmedabad. The Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled state are due this year-end.
Addressing a gathering in Ahmedabad, PM Modi said there were a lot of things that were being done by Gujarat as the first in the country.
"Besides the new building for Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute, facilities like upgraded bone marrow transplant are beginning. It will be the country's first govt hospital that will offer modern facilities like CyberKnife," ANI quoted PM Modi as saying.
The CyberKnife is one of the most advanced forms of radiosurgery. It is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumours.
"Today, when it comes to hi-tech hospitals, the name of Gujarat remains at the top. Gujarat has no competition today when it comes to educational institutions or more than one university," PM Modi said.
"When the speed of development is as swift as that in Gujarat, the list of work and achievements is so long that it is difficult to count," the Prime Minister further said.
PM Modi said 20-25 years ago, Gujarat was "plagued by many diseases" -- backwardness in the health sector, malpractices in education, lack of electricity, scarcity of water, misgovernance and poor law and order.
"The biggest disease at the root of these diseases was vote bank politics. Today Gujarat is leading the way, leaving behind all those diseases," he said.
Earlier in the day, addressing a rally in Jamkandorna town of Rajkot district, PM Modi said the Congress had outsourced the contract of abusing him and it was working "silently" to capture rural votes.
"In the last 20 years, those who were against Gujarat left no stone unturned to defame the state. They hurled choicest abuses against me, including calling me ‘maut ka saudagar'," the Prime <inister said.
"They have suddenly gone silent. They have outsourced the contract of creating ruckus, making noise and abusing me, to others. They are silently going to villages and asking people for votes," PM Modi further said.
PM Modi is in the poll-bound state of Gujarat for a three-day visit that started on October 9. On the second day of his visit, he inaugurated and dedicated to the nation various projects at Amod in Bharuch. The Prime Minister inaugurated Modi Shaikshanik Sankul in Ahmedabad.
On his first day of the visit, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects at Modhera in Mehsana which was followed by Darshan and Pooja at Modheshwari Mata Temple, followed by a visit to Surya Mandir.
(With inputs from agencies)