Puri: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s footsteps, BJP president Amit Shah Monday lashed out at the BJD government for rejecting the Centre’s latest flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat saying that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did so fearing defeat in the 2019 polls.
The BJD, however, rejected Shah’s remark and said the state government’s health insurance scheme – Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), was much better than Ayushman Bharat. The Ayushman Bharat programme would be implemented in Odisha if the BJP is voted to power in the state, Shah said at a meeting of the BJP women’s wing here.
“No one can stop the people of Odisha from availing the benefits of Ayushman Bharat. You cannot stop the BJP from helping the poor. We will implement the Ayushman Bharat programme on the first day of the BJP government in the state after the 2019 elections,” he said.
Hitting out at Patnaik for rejecting the Ayushman Bharat programme, which was launched Sunday, the BJP chief said, “Naveen Babu is afraid that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity will grow further if the scheme is launched in the state. The Chief Minister is worried about his ‘kursi’ (chair) and not for the poor people of Odisha.” Modi during his visit to Odisha last Saturday, had slammed the state government for not joining the world’s biggest health assurance scheme stating that the state scheme has limitations.
Alleging that Odisha is being governed by officers and not by the people’s representatives, Shah said IAS and IPS officers cannot rule the state. “Odisha is not being governed through democracy, but by the bureaucracy. I want to tell the officers to stop indulging in sycophancy. This government will not last forever. This government will change very soon and BJP will form the next government in Odisha. All corrupt people will have to pay the price for their activities,” he threatened.
The BJP president also alleged that at least 14 party workers have been killed in the state in the last three years by ‘government-sponsored’ goons.
“Naveen Babu, do not try to terrorise the BJP by killing our workers. Our history says that BJP gets stronger when it is attacked,” he said, while claiming that his party is gaining ground in the state each passing day.
Asserting that the NDA government at the Centre has given Rs 4.45 lakh crore to Odisha, he wanted to know how it was utilised.
“The funds meant for the poor people have been misappropriated by the officers and party leaders. Though the Centre has formulated 129 schemes, they did not reach the people in the villages,” he alleged. Claiming that the farmers in the state do not get adequate MSP on paddy though the Centre has raised it by Rs 200 per quintal, Shah said, “There is an unholy nexus between the mill owners and the government for which the farmers suffer.”
He further alleged that there have been a 39 per cent rise in atrocities against women and girls in the state. “The state government is not concerned over it. Since the party named after Biju Patnaik has not been following the ideology of the legendary leader, it has no right to stay in power,” the saffron party leader said.
He appealed to the people of Odisha to give the party “only” five years to serve them and then “see the changes”.
“You have already given 18 years to Naveen (Patnaik). Give us only five years and see changes in the life of common people in the state,” Shah said.
BJD, on the other hand, rejected Shah’s remarks as “baseless, false and misleading”. Asserting that the BSKY is much better than the Ayushman Bharat scheme, BJD general secretary Arun Sahoo said the state’s scheme provides Rs 7 lakh for women as against Rs 5 lakh by Centre. Moreover, the Centre’s share in Ayushman Bharat is only 60 per cent, while the state has to bear the remaining 40 per cent expenses, he said.
Sahoo also said the Centre should remember that it is not giving the full amount, but trying to take full credit for it. The Centre should also remember that health is a state subject and Odisha government has introduced its own scheme from its own funds for the benefit of the people, he said.
Another BJD general secretary Sanjay Das Burma, ridiculed Shah’s plea to give one term to BJP in the state, saying that ahead of the 2014 elections, the saffron party had promised “achhe din” and to contain inflation, but the people have been hit hard by sky-rocketing prices of all commodities.
He also alleged that writers, intellectuals, journalists and social activists are being targeted by the BJP-led government and the situation in the country is worse than the emergency period.
On Ujwala scheme, the BJD said, out of 30 lakh connections in the state only 6 lakh are refilling cylinders.
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