Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJP and ruling BJD Tuesday again locked horns over the non implementation of Central health insurance scheme—Ayushman Bharat.
Challenging BJD government’s claim of treating over one crore cases under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) in only two months, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan alleged state government is intolerant towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, which is the reason behind non-implementation of Centre’s healthcare scheme Ayushman Bharat in state.
In a video message, Pradhan said “You cannot fool people for a long time. The fake announcement on giving treatment over 1.1 crore people under BSKY has been exposed.”
During his visit to Odisha, PM has requested Naveen to execute Ayushman Bharat scheme is Odisha to provide healthcare benefit to Odia people in outside state, he said, adding, “However, CM has rejected the plea of PM fearing PM’s popularity will grow in the state.”
He said the average number of doctors for every 1 lakh people in the state has reduced to 9 (2014-15) from 11 (2019-10) while ICUs are available in only 12 out of 30 District Headquarters Hospitals (DHHs) and 112 health centres don’t have electricity.
Reacting to statement of Pradhan, health minister Pratap Jena said, “The Chief Minister mentioned that over 1 crore cases were benefited under the scheme from August 15 till date. This number includes patients visiting hospital either once or multiple times.”
Attacking back BJP, Jena said the saffron party is acting against the benefit of the people in Odisha. The BJP government is a ‘Jumla Sarkar’ that only makes false promises during elections.
PNN
