AAP targets PM Modi over Ayushman Bharat, calls for nationwide adoption of Delhi model

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday kept up its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that the Delhi and West Bengal governments have not implemented the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme out of "political interests".

A day back, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the prime minister of doing politics over the issue of public health in the national capital.

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.

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 speaking wrongly about the issue of public health and indulging in politics on it is not right.

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.

प्रधान मंत्री जी,

लोगों के स्वास्थ्य के मुद्दे पर ग़लत बोलना ठीक नहीं है। इस पर राजनीति करना सही नहीं है।

दिल्ली सरकार की योजना के तहत दिल्ली में रहने वाले हर व्यक्ति को पूरा इलाज मुफ्त मिलता है चाहे कितने रुपए लगें - पाँच रुपए की गोली से लेकर चाहे एक करोड़ का इलाज हो, दिल्ली… https://t.co/N63LDpTxDm pic.twitter.com/BisPXsitRf

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 29, 2024