Union Health Minister JP Nadda said on Sunday that the OPD of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jammu, will start operating within a fortnight.

During an inspection of the AIIMS on his two-day visit here, the BJP President said the institution was among the best in the country.

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Recalling that PM Narendra Modi inaugurated AIIMS Jammu in February, he said, “After that, classes started here. I saw world-class facilities in the institution and tried to understand how AIIMS Jammu is moving ahead. It has become one of the best institutions in India. Its facilities, infrastructure, equipment, appliances, and logistics are of world standard.”

“We are trying to get more faculties here. The faculty, which has come here so far, is India’s best,” he added.

During his visit to the AIIMS, the health minister was accompanied by the Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina.

Addressing the faculty and students at the AIIMS Jammu, Nadda said, “Today, we have 22 AIIMS in the country. I will do everything for the development of AIIMS at Jammu. We are working on the recruitment of staff. Medical institutions do not develop in a day it needs at least a decade. We will not compromise on the quality of AIIMS”, he said.

He also visited the state-of-the-art digital library and lecture hall at the AIIMS. He also visited the famous Raghunath Temple situated in the heart of the city to offer prayers. Martand Singh, grandson of Dr Karan Singh and Trustee of J&K Dharmarth Trust, welcomed the visiting minister to the iconic temple.

Nadda also visited the BJP headquarters at Trikuta Nagar where he addressed party activists. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh and J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina were present on the occasion.

He asked the party activists to gear up for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state, the first after scrapping of Article 370 and J&K becoming a UT in August 2019.

Nadda presided over a meeting of the core committee of the party here last night.

He also addressed the executive committee of the party and asked the party activists to get ready for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and secure victory for the party.

Nadda lauded the people of J&K for rejecting dynasties in the recent Lok Sabha elections and electing common people. In a jibe at the Congress, he said they have failed to cross the double-digit mark in the three successive Lok Sabha elections and pointed out that Congress did not have a single seat in 13 states, and whatever it won was with the support of other parties.

He paid rich tributes to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherji who laid down his life in Srinagar while struggling for the abolition of the permit system in J&K and also against the separate constitution of the erstwhile state.