AAP blasts Modi over Ayushman Bharat scheme, dubs it a ‘scam’

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday (October 30) again attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, calling it a “scam”.

The AAP’s strident reaction came a day after Modi remarked that the Delhi and West Bengal governments had not implemented the scheme due to "political interests".

Also read: PM Modi slams Delhi, WB govt for not implementing Ayushman Bharat scheme

Our scheme is better, says AAP

AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar told the media that the much touted Ayushman Bharat scheme was a "scam" and told Modi to instead study the Delhi health model.

"Health is an important issue for the AAP. We have presented such a model of health that Kofi Annan (former UN Secretary-General) appreciated us, and PM Modi has presented a scam under Ayushman Bharat... the CAG has to speak about this fraud," Kakkar said.

Also read: Explainer: Ayushman Bharat scheme to cover all seniors over 70; read more here

The prime minister Modi should examine AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's Delhi health model and apply it to the whole country, she added.

What Modi said

On Tuesday itself, after Modi’s remarks became public, Kejriwal accused the prime minister of doing politics over the issue of public health in the national capital.

The AAP spokesperson said that out of 27,000 hospitals incorporated in the Ayushman Bharat scheme, 7,000 exist on paper and 4,000 hospitals have not admitted any patient under the scheme.

Speaking at Delhi's All India Institute of Ayurveda on Tuesday, Modi said, "I apologise to all the elderly aged above 70 years in Delhi and West Bengal. I hear your pain, but due to the state governments' decisions, I cannot help you."

Kejriwal hits out at Modi

Modi said he was disappointed with the state of free healthcare for the elderly in West Bengal and Delhi, and called it a missed opportunity to serve the senior citizens.

Reacting to Modi's allegations, Kejriwal said speaking wrongly about the issue of public health and indulging in politics on it was not right.

In a long post on X, he said Modi should study the Delhi model of healthcare and replace his Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme with it across the country for real benefit to the people.

Delhi hospitals’ free treatment

Kejriwal said that under the Delhi government scheme, every person in the city is entitled to free medical treatment.

He said the Delhi government bears the entire cost, be it a pill costing Rs 5 or if a surgery costs Rs 1 crore.

He also offered to send to the prime minister a list of lakhs of beneficiaries of the Delhi government's health scheme.

Other pitfalls of Central scheme

Separately, Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that due to the Ayushman Bharat’s failures, poor patients from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan visit Delhi hospitals for surgeries.

Another AAP leader, Sanjay Singh, dismissed the Central government scheme as impractical.

"If you own a refrigerator, a motorcycle or have income above Rs 10,000, you cannot avail of Ayushman Bharat benefits," Singh said.