Union Health Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda took aim at opposition-led state governments, stating that those which didn’t implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme were voted out, and predicted West Bengal would be next. His remarks came during the MoU signing for the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) with the Delhi government on Thursday.
Key Highlights:
- Ayushman Bharat – PMJAY (AB-PMJAY) is now active in Delhi, expected to benefit 36 lakh people, including 6 lakh senior citizens (above 70), regardless of economic status.
- The scheme provides ₹5 lakh health cover per family. Delhi adds an extra ₹5 lakh, taking the total coverage to ₹10 lakh.
- Over 8.19 crore people have received treatment under AB-PMJAY, with the government spending ₹1.26 lakh crore.
- Nadda emphasized that AB-PMJAY is an assurance scheme, not insurance — the government guarantees the health coverage.
- He claimed out-of-pocket healthcare expenses dropped from 62% to 38% due to the scheme.
- Nadda accused Delhi’s previous AAP government of blocking health benefits for years and said “wrong governments deny people their rights”.
- He warned that West Bengal is the only major state left not implementing the scheme and hinted political change is imminent there too.
Delhi’s Role in PM-ABHIM:
- The Centre and Delhi signed an MoU to implement PM-ABHIM, which focuses on pandemic preparedness and health infrastructure.
- Delhi was allocated ₹2,406 crore under PM-ABHIM, but Nadda said the AAP government had earlier resisted it, even going to Supreme Court.
- BJP’s new Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announced:
- ₹1,749 crore has been approved to establish:
- 1,139 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs)
- 11 Integrated Public Health Labs (IPHLs)
- 9 Critical Care Blocks (CCBs)
- ₹1,749 crore has been approved to establish:
- She claimed AAMs would offer better healthcare than AAP’s mohalla clinics.
Nadda and officials also distributed Ayushman cards to 30 new beneficiaries during the event
