NaMo Rolls Out Ayushman Bharat – The Biggest Health Scheme, Amidst the Refusal by Five Non-NDA States to Comply

When the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi rolled out his ambitious health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, which aims at providing 5 Lakhs’ medical coverage to 50 Crore Indians, non-NDA parties played politics across five states on Sunday by refusing to implement the scheme as NaMo hit out at opposition parties (including Congress).

The five states ruled by non-NDA parties include – Delhi, Telangana, Kerala, Odisha, and Punjab have turned down the biggest health insurance scheme of the Modi led government. The refusal has hit the Centre.

On Sunday, NaMo surprised the BJD lead Odisha party by launching an attack against Naveen Patnaik for ignoring a health plan that would have otherwise benefited the people of his state.

The BJD didn’t stop and hit back at Modi. They said that it was not expected of him after the support given by them.

BJD wasn’t alone in launching the attack on PM Modi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also said it is just a PR exercise and nothing else.

Telangana also did not join the government’s programme till now and is planning to continue its state health scheme.

PM Modi on Sunday rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) – Ayushman Bharat Yojana and said it is the biggest government-sponsored health insurance scheme in the world. Referring to the Congress party, he also said that the previous government was involved in “vote-bank politics” and did not empower the poor. If the welfare schemes were implemented, the poor population of the country would have been in a better situation.

He also congratulated the team that implemented the programme with dedication and said that the officials would get the blessings of 50 Crore beneficiaries.

Modi also announced the introduction of 2,500 modern hospitals in tier-II and tier-III cities, that will also help in generating employment opportunities.

Quoting Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, party’s ideologue, PM Modi said, “good health was an investment just as good education”.