Modi's India is a ‘giver’, not 'taker’: J P Nadda

BJP president J P Nadda on Monday lauded the country's health sector and the in-house development of Covid vaccines, calling India a “changing nation” under Narendra Modi that now offered something to the world rather than being a mere seeker.

Inaugurating the Atal Cancer Care Centre, set up here at the cost of Rs 72 crore, Nadda credited the Modi government for bringing a “big change” in the health sector. Pointing at the gathering, he said, “Nobody is wearing a mask. Who gave this 'suraksha kavach' (shield)?”

Nadda said PM Modi “saved” 130 crore people in the country from coronavirus.

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He claimed it took many years for vaccines for diseases like chicken pox and polio to reach India under the previous governments.

When the Covid pandemic hit India in January 2020, the Modi government set up a task force and within nine months two vaccines were developed, he said.

"This is what a changing country is,” he said, asserting that India now is a “giver” and not a “taker” --

“Ab hum lene wale nahin hein, dene wale hein.”

Nadda claimed that despite its better health services the USA felt helpless before the pandemic, referring also to the mask worn by President Joe Biden.

He said over 190 crore coronaviruis vaccine doses had been administered in the “world’s biggest vaccination programme” undertaken by India.

The BJP leader said the country gave 18.50 crore doses of the vaccine to 100 countries. Out of them, 1.43 crore were given free of cost to 48 countries.

He said an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will also come up in Haryana and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for it.

“A big change has taken place in the health sector,” Nadda said, as he took on the previous Congress-led governments.

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There was only one AIIMS in the country before the Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s BJP-led government came to power at the Centre, Nadda said. The Vajpayee government set up six more but during the 10 UPA-led years no new AIIMS came up, he added.

After Modi became the PM, 16 more AIIMS have been set up, he said.

On Russia’s war against Ukraine, Nadda said the BJP government at the Centre had brought back 23,000 Indian students stuck in Ukraine, about 1,700 of them from Haryana.

“Is there any country in the world which brought its people from there? Did the US, Australia, Canada, Pakistan and Bangladesh bring out their people? It is India under PM Mode’s leadership which brought out 23,000 students within one month."

“Even people from some other countries carrying the Tricolour came out,” he said.

Nadda said the country’s politics has changed from the time when political leaders talked about caste and religion in their speeches.

“But today our culture under the leadership of Modi ji has changed. Now a leader comes and presents a report card. Leaders from other parties have to say that they too will make an effort,” he said.