AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled out all stops to woo the masses ahead of 2019 general elections as he insisted that only his government had the political will to amend the Consitution and provide 10% quota for poor and middle class in the general category.“The demand had persisted for decades. Political parties would throw this gimmick during election campaigns but no one dared to amend the Constitution. The NDA government in Centre showed the political will and we did it," said Modi on Thursday in his inaugural address of state-of-the-art Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical Sciences at Ahmedabad.Modi arrived in Gujarat on a three-day visit ahead of the high-profile Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019, a biennial event, where over 30,000 delegates including five country heads and top industry captains from over 100 countries will participate. He threw open global trade fair, SVP Hospital and Ahmedabad Shopping Festival ahead of the summit on Friday.“The new reservation will be implemented in 40,000 colleges across 900 universities in India from this academic year. The number of seats will be increased by 10%,” said Modi. The PM reiterated that the 10% EWS quota would not disturb existing quota and would forge further social equity and harmony.Earlier, Modi undertook an extensive tour of the swanky SVP Hospital terming it as a rare “world-class, luxurious government hospital” built for the poor in India. The 1,500-bed SVP Hospital built at cost of Rs 750 crore is the only hospital in Gujarat with its own helipad for operation of air ambulances.“Poor people would get scared to enter such a swanky hospital fearing treament would be unaffordable. Building this hospital for poor and middleclassis a dream-come-true moment for me. Sardar’s soul would be in peace," Modi said. He said the hospital will be linked with the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the poor to avail of free treatment.Later, Modi opened the Ahmedabad Shopping Festival, a shopping extravaganza organized on the lines of the Dubai Shopping Festival at the Sabarmati riverfront. Modi set the sales register ringing by buying a beige khadisilk jacket, with a 20% discount on the Rs 3,000 price tag. Contrary to the recent estimate by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an independent think tank, that 11 million jobs were lost in India in 2018, the PM saidhis governmentcreatedcroresof employment opportunities in the last four and a half years. “Be it tourism, manufacturing or the services sector, crores of employment opportunitieshavebeen createdin thelastfour and a half years,” Modi said. Modi said his government is helping MSME in all possible ways. “The GEM (Government E Marketplace) portal for smaller enterprises has witnessed trade of Rs16,500 crore till now,” he said.The country is moving towards a system where banks will extend credit based only on GST returns, Modi said.

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