NEW DELHI: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday slammed the AAP government for not adopting the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in Delhi and said that the High Court will shatter the intention of the anti-people government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the Delhi and West Bengal governments for not implementing the AB-PMJAY out of "political interests" and said he was pained that the elderly from these two states cannot avail free treatment under the expanded programme.
Talking to IANS, Manoj Tiwari said, "Today every elderly person of this country knows the truth that PM Modi has promised to provide treatment worth Rs 5 lakh to people over 70 years of age, irrespective of their income group. If they are elderly then it is PM Modi's responsibility, but the Chief Minister of Delhi is stopping it."
"The AAP government is not implementing it in Delhi, due to which we have to go to court so that the elderly can get the benefit of AB-PMJAY, " he added.
Tiwari further asserted that they have full belief in the decision of the court.
"We are fully confident that the High Court will destroy the intentions of such anti-poor and anti-elderly governments. Soon, we will be able to implement AB-PMJAY in Delhi and West Bengal as well, " he concluded.
AB-PMJAY, a flagship scheme of the Government of India, was launched as recommended by the National Health Policy, 2017 to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage.
This initiative has been designed to meet Sustainable Development Goals and its underlining commitment, which is to "leave no one behind."
However, the AAP has criticised the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme, calling it marred by "scams" and claiming that the Delhi government's health care model is superior to the Union government's scheme.
Highlighting the features of Delhi's health model, the AAP's Chief National Spokesperson, Priyanka Kakkar, told IANS on Wednesday, "Delhi's scheme offers free medicines, tests, and OPD services without requiring hospitalisation. There's no income cap, ensuring free treatment for all families, regardless of cost. We provide 450 free tests and 359 free medicines."
The AAP government has been emphasising its own health care initiatives as an alternative to the central scheme.