Mamata stands in queue to collect health scheme card

West Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Tuesday stood in a queue along with other localsin Kalighat area here to collect her Swasthya Sathi smartcard from a Kolkata Municipal Corporation distribution centre.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, however, dubbed themove as “pure drama”.

The TMC chief, accompanied by urban developmentminister Firhad Hakim and other government officials, arrivedat Joy Hind Bhavan, close to her residence on HarishChatterjee Street, around 11.45 am, to collect the card.

Swasthya Sathi, a flagship scheme launched by the TMCgovernment, provides health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per annumto a family for secondary and tertiary care.

Hakim, while talking to reporters, said that the chiefminister stood in the queue like any ordinary person tocollect the card.

It goes on to show that she is one among the people ofthe state, he stated.

The CM had on Monday urged all ministers of hergovernment to collect the card.

“I will keep this card in my archive. I urge otherministers, too, to join the scheme,” she had said.

The state government has been providing SwasthyaSathi smart cards to people, as part of her Duare Sarkarinitiative — a mass outreach programme for doorstep deliveryof welfare scheme benefits.

State chief secretary Alapan Bandopadyay had said thatover one crore people have enrolled themselves for the schemeso far.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)