KALABURAGI: This woman from Kalaburagi district was so impressive during a video-conference with the Prime Minister on the Ayushman Bharat scheme on Tuesday that Narendra Modi said if he were a local leader, he would have fielded her in elections.
Santoshi of Kinny village in Kamalapur taluk of Kalaburagi district was the talk of the town as she enthusiastically listed out benefits of the scheme. She was the only woman who had been selected for the Garib Kalyan Sammelan, which was a video interaction with the Prime Minister.
When her turn came, the conversation started with Modi greeting her and asking her if he had benefited from any of the central schemes. Once given the forum, Santoshi came into her element and thanked the Prime Minister for the scheme, and said how she, her mother and most villagers at Kinni had benefited from it. Being a health insurance scheme for the poor, it helped them get treated for their ailments, she said.
As she was not fluent in Hindi, she spoke in Kannada which was translated by a helper. The Prime Minister said that though he does not know Kannada, he was impressed by the way she briefed him. He said if he was in Karnataka as a BJP activist, he would have arranged to field her in any of the elections.
Santoshi, later talking to the media, said she is an ordinary BJP activist and thanked Modi for his encouraging words. She said her mother Neelamma is a BP and diabetics patient, and she had to spend a lot of money on treatment before health officials briefed them about the Ayushman Bharat scheme and gave them the health card. Asked if she would contest elections, Santoshi said if the party picks her, it would be nothing but blessings from the Prime Minister. The programme was organised in the auditorium of PDA College of Engineering.