Ayushman Bharat- The National Health Protection Mission which is formulated to provide a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per individual and aims to provide this benefit to 50 crore people in the country has faced opposition from five states in the country after its rollout. The state governments of Telangana, Odisha, Kerala, Punjab and Delhi have tried to put a roadblock on the implementation of the scheme. These states are ruled by personality cult leaders of regional parties therefore these leaders fear that the scheme will reap political dividends for the BJP. Telangana is ruled by TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao and he is frightened by the rising popularity of the PM in the state. “Another major hitch seen by the government was that the AB scheme would have the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the card which was not acceptable to the state government,” said a senior official of state government. KCR is ready to spoil welfare of the people of Telangana for personal political gains.
Odisha, ruled by dynast Naveen Patnaik also rejected the scheme. He suggested that, “PM Modi focus his energies on curbing the rising prices of fuel in the country”. While addressing a gathering in Odisha he accused Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of ignoring a programme that is bound to help his state. He said, “Everyone is aware of the importance of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, but Naveen babu does not understand. The Odisha government should come forward and join the programme.” There are speculations that PM Modi may choose Puri Lok Sabha constituency for 2019 election. The BJP also performed well in municipal elections in the state. The rising popularity of BJP is what stops BJD from implementing Ayushman Bharat scheme. The neighboring state of West Bengal has accepted the scheme due to its merit but Naveen Patnaik is not ready to put his political interest aside.
Communist ruled Kerala is also not ready to implement the scheme. In fact, State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac called Ayushman Bharat a “big hoax”. A scheme accepted by its neighboring states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, both ruled by non-BJP parties seems hoax to the FM of Kerala. It seems that Communists are ready to criticize any scheme brought by the NDA without even evaluating its merits and demerits.
The worst response came from the states of Punjab and Delhi. Unlike the other three states these two do not even have a health insurance scheme of their own. Healthcare condition is among the worst in Punjab and Delhi. Every year we hear about hundreds of deaths from Dengue in Delhi but the ego of ‘Dharna purush’ does not allow him to accept the scheme for the betterment of the people of Delhi. Another demand made by the Delhi government is to rename the scheme as ‘Mukhya Mantri Aam Aadmi Swasthya Bima Yojana-Ayushman Bharat’ to bring Delhi on the board. Delhi government wants to politicize a scheme brought by the central government for its own political gains. The politics of Arvind Kejriwal has definitely touched a new low.
The state of Punjab ruled by Captain Amarinder Singh, son of the last Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala has also expressed its reservations against the scheme. Captain Amarinder Singh rules the state with iron fist and sees a patron-client relationship between himself and the people of the state. Like a nefarious king he is ready to hurt the interest of the people of the state for personal political gains. According to the draft of National Health Policy, “Over 63 million people are faced with poverty every year due to healthcare costs alone. It is because there is no financial protection for the vast majority of healthcare needs.” The scheme launched by Modi government is the largest universal health coverage in the world. Thirty one states and union territories have agreed to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme.