However, records show that the AIIA was in fact inaugurated way back in 2010 by the then Minister of State for Health and Family welfare, S Gandhiselvan. Gandhiselvan is a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader who served as MOS from May, 2009 to March 2013 in the UPA government.

When asked why the PM inaugurated AIIA again, national spokesperson of the BJP, Bizay Sonkar Shastri, said, “You can understand how UPA worked by the fact that we have to inaugurate it again.” His wordplay became a tacit acceptance of the fact that the hospital was indeed opened seven years back.

According to the information available on the website of AIIA, the idea to establish an AIIMS like Ayurvedic and research institute was mooted by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

The Ministry of Health and Family welfare had issued a press release in this regard on October 26, 2010 stating that the MOS had inaugurated the OPD services. Emphasising the need for quality Ayurveda treatment, the minister was quoted as saying, “Ayurveda can offer safe and effective approach to holistic well-being to all.”

Priyabhanshu Ranjan, a Delhi-based journalist, has shared his experience with mediavigil.com claiming that patients have been visiting AIIA for the last seven years. “I have got free medicine for my mother from AIIA,” he wrote.