Raju Bista, the BJP MP of Darjeeling, has demanded an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to be set up in Siliguri.

Speaking at the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the MP highlighted that such an institution of advanced medical care will help around three crore people in north Bengal.

“The majority of people in north Bengal are from the low-income group and cannot afford treatment at private nursing homes. The state-run hospitals in the region suffer from an acute shortage of doctors, nurses, staff and lack basic equipment and facilities,” Bista said.

“These people cannot travel to distant places for treatment due to financial issues and do not have access to proper healthcare support at the government level,” the MP said.

He pointed out that Siliguri, which is the largest metropolitan hub of north Bengal and is well connected by air, rail and road networks, should be chosen as the site to set up an AIIMS and provide advanced healthcare to people.

“An AIIMS in Siliguri will also benefit people residing in eastern Bihar, lower Assam and Sikkim,” the MP added.

Such a move by Bista in the Lower House hints that the saffron camp is all set to flag the AIIMS issue again, opined political observers.

They pointed out that in 2012, during the UPA government, a plan was made to set up an AIIMS near Raiganj, the headquarters of North Dinajpur district. Then Union minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who was from the district, was instrumental in getting the Centre-run healthcare institution of eminence in Raiganj.

In due course, the Trinamul government of the state came up with an alternative plan. Eventually, the AIIMS was set up in Kalyani in the Nadia district of Bengal.

“Since then, the parties in the Opposition, including the Congress and the BJP, have time and again raked up the issue that Trinamool has deprived the north Bengal residents of an AIIMS,” said an observer.

He said that to placate the grievances of people, especially the residents of North Dinajpur, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had set up a medical college in Raiganj.

“As the Assembly elections in Bengal will be held next year, it seems the BJP will raise the AIIMS issue again. The party will try to drive home the point that the state’s decision to shift AIIMS to Kalyani has prompted their MP to raise the demand for a similar institution, this time in Siliguri. It would be interesting to see how Trinamool counters it,” the observer added.