Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi on Friday said his stance on an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala is the same as it was in 2016, and there is no change to that.

“I have said what I had to say. I have only one stand. It is the same as stated by me in 2016,” the Minister told reporters here.

His latest statement comes in the wake of his recent remarks calling for an AIIMS in Alappuzha district, with many party leaders terming it his “personal view” and saying the Centre has to decide where in Kerala it will be set up.