Arvind Kejriwal Targets PM Modi Over Ayushman Bharat, Flags Scams

Former Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday slammed the Central government over the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Speaking to the media, Kejriwal claimed that the CAG has flagged irregularities in the scheme and Delhi has better healthcare schemes than Ayushman Bharat. Kejriwal claimed that people get free treatment in Delhi even if the treatment costs shoot up to Rs 20 lakhs or more.  

Kejriwal's response came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi rued lack of implementation of the central government's health scheme in Delhi and West Bengal. 

Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that the Delhi and West Bengal governments have not implemented the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme out of "political interests". Addressing a public gathering in New 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 government's decisions, I cannot help you." 

At a press conference on Wednesday, party spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar termed the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme a "scam" and said the PM should study the Delhi health model.

"Health is an important issue for the Aam Aadmi Party. We have presented such a model of health that Kofi Annan (former United Nations Secretary-General) appreciated us, and PM Modi has presented a scam under Ayushman Bharat... The CAG has to speak about this fraud," Kakkar said.
Prime Minister Modi should examine Arvind Kejriwal's Delhi health model and apply it to the whole country, she added.

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