BHUBANESWAR: The ruling BJD on Thursday targeted the Centre for the inadequate provision in the Union budget under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and stated that Odisha government’s Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) is a better scheme.
BJD spokespersons Shreemayee Mishra and Gautambuddha Das told mediapersons here that the Odisha BJP has been harping on how Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a better scheme than the state’s BSKY. But the Union budget has exposed the false propaganda of the state BJP leaders.
Only Rs 7,200 crore has been provided for the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, they said and added that when the country’s 28 states and eight union territories will be taken into account, Odisha’s share will be only Rs 200 crore per annum. This will cover only one district of the state, they said and asked where will the people of 29 other districts in the state go. On the other hand, the provision for BSKY is Rs 6,000 crore per year, which means a district gets around Rs 200 crore, they added.
Stating that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is committed to provide comprehensive healthcare to the people of Odisha as compared to the false propaganda of BJP, they said while in Ayushman Bharat Yojana a woman can only avail treatment for Rs 5 lakh, in BSKY she can avail Rs 10 lakh.
The BJD leaders alleged under Ayushman Bharat, a patient requiring organ transplantation cannot exceed the limit of Rs 5 lakh, but under BSKY, the beneficiary can avail far exceeding the limit of Rs 5 lakh.
The BJD leaders urged the Odisha BJP leaders to stop misleading the people. The BJD appreciates when one does good work for Odisha, but will bring out the facts when somebody tries to mislead the people, they added.