‘Galat bolna theek nahi hai’: Arvind Kejriwal slams PM Modi over Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme

The Aam Aadmi Party continued its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday regarding his statement that the Delhi and West Bengal governments have not implemented the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme due to “political interests.”

“It is not right to speak wrongly on the issue of people’s health. It is not right to do politics on this,” said Arvind Kejriwal in a post on X.

Kejriwal’s remarks came after Prime Minister Modi criticised the Delhi and West Bengal governments for failing to implement the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme out of “political interests.”

Notably, Delhi and West Bengal are among the states where the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojna is not implemented.

A day earlier, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the prime minister of playing politics with public health issues in the national capital, PTI reported.

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At a press conference on Wednesday, party spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar termed the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme a “scam” and said the PM should study the Delhi health model.

“Health is an important issue for the Aam Aadmi Party. We have presented such a model of health that Kofi Annan (former United Nations Secretary-General) appreciated us, and PM Modi has presented a scam under Ayushman Bharat… the CAG has to speak about this fraud,” Kakkar said.

Prime Minister Modi should examine Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi health model and apply it to the whole country, she added.

The spokesperson claimed that out of 27,000 hospitals incorporated in Ayushman Bharat, 7,000 only exist on paper and 4,000 hospitals have not admitted any patients under the scheme.

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Addressing a public gathering in New Delhi’s All India Institute of Ayurveda on Tuesday, Modi said, “I apologise to all the elderly aged above 70 years in Delhi and West Bengal. I hear your pain, but due to the state governments’ decisions, I cannot help you.”

Modi said he was disappointed with the state of free healthcare for the elderly in West Bengal and Delhi, and called it a missed opportunity to serve the senior citizens.

Reacting to Modi’s allegations, Kejriwal said it is not right to speak wrongly about the issue of public health and indulge in politics about it.

In a long post on X, he said PM Modi should study the Delhi model of healthcare and replace his government’s Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme with it across the country for real benefit to the people.