NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday said that it is “inhuman” for the people of Delhi for not being part of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), considered to be the largest insurance scheme in the world.
“We hope the government of Delhi gets some wisdom, and if they don’t, then we hope the people ensure that they get it on February 5,” Nadda said, taking a dig at the AAP-led government in the national capital. Elections in Delhi are slated for Feb 5.
He said Delhi and West Bengal are the only two states that are yet to be part of the scheme, which provides `5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 55 crore individuals corresponding to 12.34 crore families.
“The government of Delhi has excluded 57 lakh people from this scheme for the past 10 years. What can be more inhuman than this,” he told media persons here. Odisha recently joined the scheme, which covers nearly 2,000 medical procedures across 27 specialties, including major surgeries like bypass surgeries and knee replacements.
Nadda also took a swipe at the former CM Arvind Kejriwal, who has accused the Haryana government for “mixing poison” in the city’s water supply, in an attempt to “create chaos... hoping the blame will fall” on his AAP party’s administration.
“How can a person sitting in such a responsible position claim that Yamuna is being poisoned?” the BJP chief asked.
Kejriwal has claimed that the neighbouring Haryana, which has BJP government in power, has added a poisonous substance to the Yamuna river that flows through that state and into the national capital.