Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Thursday questioned the central government over delay in the construction of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the state.

"The state government has provided land for construction of AIIMS as per the requirement of the Union Health Ministry but it is difficult to understand as to why the project is being delayed," an official statement quoting the Chief Minister said.Taking a jibe at Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who belongs to this state, Virbhadra Singh said Nadda must be aiming to become the Chief Minister first and thereafter he would give the green light to the construction of AIIMS.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a public meeting in Bilaspur district, the hometown of Nadda.Ahead of the assembly elections, slated by end of this year, a blame game is on between the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the setting up of AIIMS.

While the state government claims that the central government has not issued notification for setting up the AIIMS, the state BJP blames the state for delay in allotment of land."Nadda is keen to take credit for awarding AIIMS to the state. For this reason, he wants to start the construction of AIIMS only when his party BJP comes to power," said a BJP leader.State Health Minister Kaul Singh has said the central government has not issued notification for AIIMS and the BJP is unnecessary misleading people to get political mileage.He said the Chief Minister has taken up this issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi thrice but no response has been received from the central government.