Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday rejected the Congress` demand for setting up a hospital on the lines of AIIMS at Raigunj in Uttar Dinajpur district.
"Land is not available there and it is my government`s principled stand of not acquiring land from farmers by force," Banerjee said during a meeting with state health officials here.
The chief minister said land was ready at Kalyani in Nadia district where the hospital could come up.
Banerjee said instead of Raiganj, it could also come up at places like Siliguri, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Kaliagunj or Gangarampur.
Banerjee`s bete noire Congress leader and union minister Deepa Dasmunshi, MP from the area, has been demanding the hospital at Raigunj and has criticised the Trinamool Congress government for its opposition to the Centre`s suggestion.
She has said that the state government was acting irrationally and alleged that it was unnecessarily delaying the project`s implementation even though the Centre was in favour of setting it up at Raigunj.
PTI
