Mamata pulls out of Ayushman Bharat
› Centre is printing the picture of PM Modi in the official communication of the scheme for publicity. The logo has also been designed to resemble the party symbol of Bharatiya Janata Party MAMATA BANERJEE, Bengal CM
KOLKATA:ALLEGING that the Centre is using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture in the official communication of the flagship Ayushman Bharat-pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna to take credit for what is essentially a jointly funded project, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday announced that her government has decided to stop paying the state’s share.
States are supposed to bear 40% of the project cost, while the Centre will foot 60% of the bill.
“We are withdrawing from the Ayushman Bharat scheme. My state will not contribute our share (40%) for the scheme,” Banerjee said at a public meeting in Krishnagar in Nadia district, where she accused Modi of taking unilateral credit for the project.
“The Centre is printing the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the official communication of the scheme for publicity. The logo has also been designed to resemble the party symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” the CM alleged in a rhetoricladen speech, in which she named the PM a few times.
Soon after her announcement, state chief secretary Malay De shot off a letter to the Centre, conveying the government’s stance.
The National Health Authority, the central body responsible for implementation of the scheme, has been trying to reach out to the West Bengal government but there has been no response. “We have had been trying to get in touch with the West Bengal government the whole of last week, but they did not respond to our requests for a meet to address their concerns,” said Indu Bhushan, CEO, NHA.
BJP leaders stung back immediately. “Like all other states, Bengal also gets a share of the tax pool. But Mamata Banerjee is behaving as if she were running a sovereign country. From bus stands to public toilets, we, too always encounter her pictures at all places,” said BJP national secretary, Rahul Sinha.
PM Modi had launched the scheme described as the world’s largest public health insurance on September 23. It is supposed to benefit 107.4 million poor families who can avail hospitalisation for 1,350 pre-identified diseases for up to ~0.5 million.
The NHA, the central body responsible for implementation of the scheme, have been trying to reach out to the West Bengal government but there has been no response.
“We have had been trying to get in touch with the West Bengal government the whole of last week, but they did not respond to our requests for a meeting to address their concerns,” said Bhushan.