“Has the BJP government built and run any new medical college since 2017 in Manipur? Has the BJP government built any new AIIMS since 2017 in Manipur?,” asked Bupenda
TFM Report
The war of words between the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress continued on Tuesday as MPCC spokesperson Ningombam Bupenda Meitei tore into BJP Manipur spokesperson M Asnikumar Singh’s June 19 statement.
In his June 19 press statement, Asnikumar Singh had blamed the previous 15 years of Congress regime for siphoning off huge amounts of public projects, including healthcare facilities, leaving behind a “crumbling healthcare infrastructure” in the state.
The BJP spokesperson cited the recent installation of several ICU beds to fight the raging COVID-19 pandemic as an example of the present regime’s work towards improving the healthcare facilities in the state.
Picking holes in Asnikumar’s allegations, Bupenda said that if the then Congress government had not brought the central status to RIMS and establish JNIMS as a state-owned medical college, then the fight against COVID-19 pandemic would have been further worsen considering the “reality that the BJP government has not built any new government hospital since 2017”.
He asserted that the success of today’s JNIMS is due to the Congress government’s visionary planning by instituting it as a premier medical college for the people of the state and nation. By according the central status to RIMS under the Congress government, RIMS, as of today, has been technologically and scientifically well-equipped in combating COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
“Has the BJP government built and run any new medical college since 2017 in Manipur? Has the BJP government built any new AIIMS since 2017 in Manipur?,” asked Bupenda in a press briefing via online.
He further claimed that the then Congress governments built district hospitals in districts of Thoubal, Bishnupur, Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Senapati, Chandel, etc., and many of them are 100 bedded hospitals. The Congress governments, throughout hills and valleys, had built Sub-District Hospitals/ Community Health Centres. All CHCs, PHCs and PH Sub-Centres were established during Congress governments in the state, he claimed.
Instead of strengthening the health infrastructure set up by the previous Congress governments, the present BJP government displays its lack of health infrastructure by comparing the number of ICUs equipped with ventilators available during the Congress government and the present BJP government during Covid-19 pandemic. The BJP must realise that COVID-19 pandemic mandates any government, whether of Congress or not, to procure any new medical equipment to combat COVID-19 pandemic, he argued.
“How can the BJP government claim its success by such inappropriate comparison of the number of ICU beds with ventilators in combating COVID-19 pandemic when it has failed to even build one dedicated COVID-19 hospital, which it did promise in the first wave in 2020,” he argued.
Bupenda also asked how many crores of rupees have been spent by the BJP government in procuring ICU beds equipped with ventilators since 2017.
Instead of criticising the previous Congress government’s health infrastructure, the BJP government must create its own governmental health infrastructure during covid pandemic, he asserted.
What is happening today is to witness the Chief Minister of Manipur, who is also the Health Minister, for his inauguration of a small private health infrastructure during covid pandemic. Had the Congress government not built the infrastructure of the Industrial Centre at Lamboikhongnangkhong and TB Hospital at Keirao, today’s BJP government will definitely find an extreme difficulty in combating COVID-19 pandemic. It is these infrastructures, which were created by the Congress governments, are being utilized as COVID centres to fight COVID-19 today, he contended.
The June 19 statement by the BJP spokesperson had mentioned that the present regime inherited a debt of Rs 8,707 crore when it came to power. Asnikumar claimed that it puts a burden on the BJP government of paying annual interest of Rs 544 crore as well as repayment.
The MPCC spokesperson contended that unfortunately, the BJP, in the state, gave statements in a covertly deliberate attempt to confuse the people by blaming the Ibobi-led Congress governments as the cause of financial burden, with the amount of Rs. 8,707 crore.
Bupenda maintained that the BJP was spreading misinformation and asked the BJP on what basis or reference has the ruling party taken the figure of Rs 8,707 crore.
“If the BJP is concerned about the fiscal liabilities due to outstanding debt, then they must first use the correct figures, in public domain, by giving a reference from any government data. It is the nature of the BJP that it neither gives the correct figures nor quotes a reference,” he added.
The exact figure, which was wrongly quoted by the BJP, Bupenda said, should have been Rs 8,807.82 crores. And, the reference to the figure is from CAG (The Comptroller and Auditor General of India) Report No. 1 of 2020, for the year ended 31st March, 2019.
Bupenda further said that the BJP portrays as if Rs 8,807.82 crores were created as burden against the BJP government in March of 2017, and to ease the financial burden it appears that the BJP has been justifying its relentless increase in petrol and diesel prices in Manipur “without even having an iota of meetings on reducing a single rupee from state’s VAT in a litre of petrol or diesel during covid pandemic”.
On the point of fiscal liabilities, the MPCC spokesperson maintained that Rs 8807.82 crore is not due to only Congress governments since 2002. It needs to relook at fiscal liabilities in the financial years before the Congress government, thereby the financial years of 1999-2000, 2000-2001 and 2001-02 must be observed.
The financial liabilities of Rs. 8,807.82 crore are due to the cumulative effect of the financial liabilities of financial years not only from 2017 but from 1999 and even prior to 1999 from the previous state governments of Manipur, he contended.
Asking whether the Congress government should blame the pre-2002 state government for the financial liabilities of Rs. 2,198 crores, Bupenda maintained that the government is always in continuum and the continuity is manifested through fiscal and budget management for a better economy.
“If BJP blames the Congress government for Rs 8807.82 crores, then should the next government in 2022 also blame the present BJP government for its financial liabilities in 2021-22,” he asked.
As per the CAG Report of 2020, in Table 1.29 under para. 1.13.2, the fiscal liabilities under BJP government’s tenure are Rs. 9,565.94 crore in 2017-18 and Rs. 10,463.92 crore in 2018-19.
The financial liabilities of the BJP government in 2021-22, if the continuing increasing trend remains, will not be less than Rs 13,000 crore, he argued.
“So, is the BJP justifying that the BJP state government must be blamed for its own financial liabilities of, probably, around Rs. 13,000 crore (approx.) in 2021-22? Will the BJP accept that it is their own fiscal mismanagement that would create a financial burden on the future state exchequer in 2022?”
Maintaining that the arguments raised by the BJP on financial liabilities are against the principle of continuum of government, Bupenda asserted that the BJP must learn and appreciate the fiscal discipline of the previous Congress governments.