Amid the ongoing tussle between the Punjab and Union governments over Aam Aadmi Clinic, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on Saturday, said they had to discontinue the funding to Punjab government for health and wellness centres because the centres had been converted into the Aam Aadmi Clinics.
Mandviya, who was in Patiala to interact with the beneficiaries of the central government’s flagship campaign “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra”, said, “We can only give funds to the Punjab government for the implementation of schemes, which are run by the Union government. There are fixed guidelines to run any scheme, and if those are not followed, the Parliament does not sanction the grant.”
Notably, the Union government had raised strong objections to rebranding of their wellness centres to Aam Aadmi Clinics, with photos of chief minister Bhagwant Mann being put on the premises. Consequently, the Centre stopped releasing funds for Punjab.