Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Monday unveiled the grand statue of Maharaja Agrasen, inaugurated the newly constructed ICU, and laid the foundation stone for the PG hostel at Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, Hisar. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
In his address, Shah said the land of Haryana has worked to enrich and preserve India’s culture, values, and traditions since ancient times. He said, from Mahabharata time to the freedom struggle and even after independence, Haryana’s contribution to the development of the country has always been far greater than that of the larger states.
Shah said that in this large hospital, where nearly five lakh people avail OPD services, 180 children graduate in medical education every year, and patients receive various types of modern medical facilities, all of this is possible due to the foundation laid by OP Jindal.
The Union Home Minister said that Maharaja Agrasen was a unique kind of ruler, and it is said that in his time, the capital had a population of one lakh people. Whenever a new person arrived there, they were given a brick and one rupee by every individual to help them build a house.
Shah said that Maharaja Agrasen paved the way for the prosperity and welfare of every individual without burdening the state. He said that Maharaja Agrasen worked to nurture the values of the entire state. Maharaja Agrasen ensured that no one in his kingdom went hungry to bed, no one lived without a roof over their head, and no one was without work.
Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also following the path shown by Maharaja Agrasen. He mentioned that during Prime Minister Modi’s 10-year tenure, 25 crore people in the country have risen above the poverty line.
He said that Prime Minister Modi has provided four crore houses, 5 kg free ration per person per month to 81 crore people, gas connections to 11 crore families, and toilets to 12 crore families. He said that the first government in the country to provide toilets in every house was the Haryana Government.
He added that the Modi Government has provided 15 crore people with piped water, health coverage of up to 5 lakh for 60 crore people, electricity to every household, and is now working through cooperatives to provide self-employment to every household.
The Union Home Minister said that under Prime Minister Modi’s tenure, the country has seen transformative changes in various sectors over the past 10 years. He mentioned that the Modi government has taken a holistic approach to the health of the citizens.
He explained that the government first provided a gas cylinder to every household, which is directly related to the health of women. Following that, yoga was popularised worldwide, then the Fit India Mission, the Nutrition Campaign, Mission Indradhanush, and the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which provides health coverage up to 5 lakh, were introduced.
Shah said that the Modi Government has made significant strides in the field of medical infrastructure. He said the Central government has spent Rs 64,000 crore on public health centres and community health centres, building a strong foundation for medical infrastructure.
He also highlighted the establishment of 730 integrated public health labs, 4,382 block public health units, and 602 new critical care boxes over the past 10 years. He further stated that in the year 2013-14, the country’s health budget was Rs 33,000 crore, which Prime Minister Modi has more than tripled, raising it to Rs 1.33 lakh crore in the 2025-26 budget.
The Union Home Minister said that in 2014, there were 7 AIIMS in the country, while in 2024, there are 23 AIIMS. Similarly, in 2014, there were 387 medical colleges in the country, and today there are 766. He mentioned that the number of MBBS seats, which was 51,000 in 2014, has now increased to 1.15 lakh and an additional 85,000 seats will be added over the next five years.
He also stated that in 2014, there were 31,000 PG seats, which have now increased to 73,000. Mr Shah assured that in the next 5 years, there will not be a single district in the country without a medical college.
Shah said that Haryana is the best example of politics based on principles, with like-minded people in the double-engine government. He mentioned that in previous governments, corruption in jobs was due to casteism, and jobs were obtained through bribes and recommendations.
He said that the Saini government in Haryana provided 80,000 jobs to youth in a transparent manner, without bribes or recommendations. He also pointed out that Haryana’s athletes have won three times more medals in the last 10 years, Haryana is the largest exporter of Basmati rice, and one in every 10 soldiers in the army is from the North Indian state.
The Union Home Minister said that Haryana’s budget, which was previously Rs 37,000 crore, has now been increased to Rs 2 lakh crore under the Nayab Saini government. He mentioned that between 2004 and 2014, Haryana received Rs 41,000 crore from the central government, while the Modi government has provided Haryana with Rs 1.43 lakh crore between 2014 and 2024.