Chandigarh, Jan 28 (PTI) BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Wednesday slammed the AAP government in Punjab over its ‘Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna’, questioning the funding for the universal health cover scheme given the state’s “poor financial health” and “massive outstanding debt”.
Chugh also accused the Bhagwant Mann government of trying to fool the people with its scheme of cashless medical treatment, calling it a “blatant lie”.
The AAP government on January 22 launched the ‘Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna’, which promises free cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh to every family in the state.
The universal healthcare cover will be provided to all the 65 lakh families in Punjab, it said.
Accusing the Punjab government of trying to “sell a big lie” through its scheme, Chugh said AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had promised a ‘Sehat Kranti’ (health revolution) before coming to power, but it turned out to be just a ‘jumla’ (rhetoric).
“Around four years of the Mann government have already passed, but it has failed to take even a single step towards ‘Sehat Kranti’. Now it is promising to provide Rs 10 lakh cashless health cover. It will take at least one year to implement the scheme in the state,” he claimed, pointing at the AAP government’s tenure.
Questioning the funding for the scheme, Chugh said, “Who will bear the cost of Rs 10 lakh per family, given that the state government failed to pay even dearness allowance and arrears to its employees?” He also said that the state government has made a budgetary provision of Rs 778 crore for the insurance scheme.
“Out of the Rs 10 lakh, the insurance company will provide coverage of only Rs 1 lakh per family, and the rest, Rs 9 lakh, will be paid through state funds,” Chugh claimed.
“The government, whose exchequer is empty, which raised a debt of Rs 1.25 lakh crore, taking the total outstanding debt to Rs 4.99 lakh crore, now claims to bear the cost of health cover,” Chugh said.
He also claimed that if even 1 per cent of the 65 lakh families were to avail the benefits of the health scheme, the state government would need a sum of Rs 6,500 crore to fund them. PTI CHS ARI
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