Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday said that the Union budget has exposed BJP's false propaganda and deception on Ayushman Bharat yojana.
Addressing media persons here, BJD spokesperson Shreemayee Mishra said that on a regular basis, Odisha BJP has been harping on how Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a better programe than the state government's Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).
However, Wednesday's Union Budget has exposed the Odisha BJP's false propaganda and deception on Ayushman Yojana, she said.
Under the outlay on major schemes in the Union Budget for the year 2023-24, the Centre has provided only Rs 7,200 crore towards Ayushman Bharat yojana.
"When we take into consideration India's 28 states and 8 union territories, per state/UT, it comes to around Rs 200 crore per annum for Ayushman Yojana," Mishra said.
On the other hand, she said, the BJD government spends about Rs 6,000 crore under its BSKY which is on average about Rs 200 crore per district per year in Odisha.
It means, Rs 200 crore of Ayushman Bharat scheme per year would only cover one district of Odisha. Where would the rest 29 districts of Odisha go? What relief do the people of Odisha get?, she asked.
Another BJD leader Gautambuddha Das said a woman can only avail treatment of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat while she can avail upto Rs 10 lakh under the state scheme.
Similarly, under Ayushman Bharat, a patient requiring organ transplant cannot exceed the limit of Rs 5 lakh but in BSKY, the beneficiary can benefit far exceeding the Rs 5 lakh limit.
The BJD leaders urged the Odisha BJP leaders to stop misleading people.
On Wednesday, the Odisha CM had also drawn a similar comparison between the state and central schemes.
Reacting to this, state BJP president Samir Mohanty said that the recent misuse of BSKY cards by a private hospital in Cuttack clearly suggests that the scheme is riddled with corruption. He said the statement of BJD seems to be politically motivated.
On the remark of Patnaik, Mohanty said it is totally unacceptable from a person who has remained in power for the last 23 years.
