BJD govt deprived people of 'Ayushman Bharat' benefits for its interest, alleges Odisha CM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday slammed the previous Naveen Patnaik government for not implementing the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme in the state, alleging that the BJD dispensation had deprived people of benefits of the health insurance programme for its "interest".

Majhi arrived this morning at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here from New Delhi where he joined a programme on signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Odisha government and the Centre for implementation of the 'Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana' on Monday.

"Though the Centre implemented the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme in 2018, the previous BJD government did not implement it in Odisha due to its personal interest," Majhi told reporters.

He also claimed that the BJP government implemented the scheme after the saffron party came to power in the state.

"The BJP, as the opposition party, had demanded implementation of the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme. However, the then BJD government did not pay attention to our demand. Finally, the people ousted the BJD from power and elected us to form the ‘double engine’ government in Odisha. Our government has implemented the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme," he said.

The term 'double engine' is often used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre and in a state.

The scheme provides cashless cover of up to Rs 5 lakh to each eligible family per annum for listed secondary and tertiary care conditions.

"It was indeed a travesty that my sisters and brothers of Odisha were denied the benefits of Ayushman Bharat by the previous Government. This scheme will ensure the highest-quality healthcare at affordable rates," Prime Minister Narendra Modi had posted on X on Monday.

Majhi said the BJD government’s 'Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana' (BSKY) has been replaced by 'Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana' (GJAY), and his dispensation has converged it with the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme.

The chief minister said that 1.3 crore families of Odisha will benefit from the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme and they are now entitled to get health service in around 30,000 health facilities instead of about 900 hospitals under the BSKY programme.

This will also benefit the people of Odisha, who are working outside the state, he said.

"Over 23 lakh people who are 70 years and above will get benefits of the 'Ayushman Bharat'," the chief minister said.

The implementation of the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme in Odisha was one of the major promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto.