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Ayushmann has limited reach, Chiranjeevi scheme benefitting lakhs: Jairam Ramesh
The Congress leader’s reaction came on a tweet by the Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal, in which he posted a video of PM Modi boasting the central government’s medical scheme for the poor with a guarantee card worth Rs.500,000 under the union government’s Ayushmann Bharat Scheme
Senior Indian National Congress (INC) leader and MP Jairam Ramesh in a tweet on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticising the Chiranjeevi Scheme of the Rajasthan government.
The scheme started by chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government provides people with medical treatment free of cost.
Emphasising the exposure and expansion of the Chiranjeevi scheme in Rajasthan, Ramesh stated, “The Ayushmann Bharat Scheme is for a limited number of people, but lakhs of families are already benefitted from the Chiranjeevi Scheme.”
The Congress leader’s reaction came on a tweet by the Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal, in which he posted a video of PM Modi boasting the central government’s medical scheme for the poor with a guarantee card worth Rs.500,000 under the union government’s Ayushmann Bharat Scheme.
Ramesh said, “We should remind the PM that the Rajasthan’s Congress government is already providing the free medical treatment facility up to Rs.25,00,000 to not only the poor but also every family in the state.”
The veteran Congress leader also added that the Rajasthan government under the Chiranjeevi scheme is also supposed to bear the cost of the treatment if anyone avails of the organ transplantation surgery.
“I would also like to inform the BJP colleagues that from this year free insurance of Rs.40,000 has also been started for two milch cows or buffaloes,” he wrote on Twitter as he shared the video of PM Modi showing the Ayushman Card and claiming that no government in this country has ever provided an Rs.5 lakh guarantee to the poor citizens of India.
Responding to Ramesh’s tweet, former state BJP president Satish Poonia said, “Ayushmann Scheme benefitted around 500 million people in the country, but Gehlot didn’t let it implement in Rajasthan out of political envy. Chiranjeevi is running on the funds sent by the central government for Ayushmann. The animal insurance scheme is also part of his political branding.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday Gehlot made a tweet mentioning the number of families registered under the various available schemes in the ongoing Mehngai Rahat (Inflation relief) Camps (MRC) in the last couple of months across the state. “This historical record is a great achievement in the constant fight against inflation. I appeal to all the people who didn’t yet register their names to visit the camps and register soon,” Ghelot wrote on Twitter.
According to the state government, around 10.7 million have benefitted through various schemes available in the MRC. Over 70 million guarantee cards have also been distributed so far in this ongoing programme, said the government in its official portal.
It also said that the Chiranjeevi Scheme for Health Insurance received the highest number of registrations so far with around 10.3 million names followed by the Kamdhenu Dairy Animal Insurance Scheme which saw around 10.06 million registrations till July 1.
Around 5.5 million families registered for the Indira Gandhi gas cylinder subsidy scheme in which people are supposed to get electricity at Rs.500 monthly. Another 9.75 million families also registered for the 100-unit free electricity scheme for domestic purposes while 1.1 million peasants registered for the 2,000-unit free electricity scheme for the farmers as well, showed the official portal of MRC.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) received around 6.6 million registration in which people are supposed to get an extra wage of 25 days. Over 4.3 million people also registered their names under the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme, said the government.
The Social Security Pension Scheme which guaranteed a minimum pension worth Rs.1,000 per month also witnessed the registrations of around 5.1 million people.
Ramesh’s tweet not only came after Goyal’s post but also after his press conference in Bharatpur on Saturday, where the Union industry minister labelled the incumbent Rajasthan state government a corrupted one, saying, “Gehlot failed in all parameters. No development took place in the state in the last four years. They also corrupted the fund we sent from the Centre for the progress of the Jal-Jeevan Mission in the state. Gehlot doesn’t want Rajasthan to drink water.”
Responding to this, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “Gehlot allotted ₹13,000 crores for the ERCP project which the central government didn’t recognise as a special project. The water supply minster (Gajendra Singh Shekhawat) is from Rajasthan, yet he failed to allot a special package for the development of water supply system in the state considering its geographic nature. Modi is cheating with the people. Rather Gehlot is putting effort for its development.”
