AAP Govt denying Central scheme benefits to people: BJP leaders
Union Health Minister and BJP president JP Nadda on Thursday accused the AAP government in Delhi of depriving its citizens of crucial health benefits under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, after the Delhi High Court sharply criticised the state government for not implementing the scheme.
“It pains me immensely when states like Delhi have deprived its population by willfully not adopting it. The AAP government has denied this crucial health cover to more than 6.5 lakh eligible families and all citizens aged 70 years and above in Delhi,” Nadda wrote on X, sharing a news report on the court’s remarks.
The BJP Delhi MPs, who were petitioners in the case, held a press conference on the matter, where they discussed the ongoing legal battle and the court’s actions. BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, along with MPs Bansuri Swaraj, Yogendra Chandolia, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and Praveen Khandelwal, addressed the media.
Bidhuri, speaking at the press conference, reminded the public that Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had previously announced in the Delhi Assembly that the Ayushman Bharat scheme would be implemented in the capital. However, he lamented that the scheme had still not been introduced.
“BJP MLAs have repeatedly raised the issue in the Assembly, demanding its implementation, but due to political animosity, it was not enacted. After the elections, all seven MPs from Delhi approached the High Court, which has now issued a notice to the Delhi government,” Bidhuri said.
He further announced a signature campaign from December 1 to 7, targeting senior citizens, with door-to-door collection of signatures and camps in various wards to press for the scheme's implementation. “If the BJP forms the government, Ayushman Bharat will be implemented in the very first cabinet meeting,” Bidhuri vowed.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, representing the party in the ongoing case, highlighted the High Court’s observation on the Delhi government’s faltering healthcare system, questioning why the AAP government had not implemented the Ayushman Bharat scheme despite the central government’s offer to fund it.
