Bhubaneswar: A couple of days after the Odisha government said that it would examine Centre’s fresh proposal to implement the Ayushman Bharat (Modicare) scheme along with its own Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY, Bijucare) in the State, Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik today came down heavily on the ruling-BJD accusing it of playing politics over the interests of the people of Odisha.
Odisha government had earlier decided to stay out of the Ayushman Bharat scheme with the only intention of getting some political mileage before 2019 elections, said Patnaik.
“As the polls are over now, the Naveen government is trying to get closer to PM Modi by opting for the Ayushman Bharat scheme,” alleged the OPCC president adding that the leaning of the ruling-BJD towards the Centre now indicates that the State government is running out of funds for its own BSKY scheme.
Earlier on June 4, a delegation, led by Ayushman Bharat CEO Indu Bhushan, had a discussion with Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das and Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi regarding the implementation of the Central scheme in Odisha.
Following the discussion, Das had said that the State will consider implementing the scheme if it would find the scheme beneficial for the people of Odisha and if it complements the State’s existing health scheme.
It is worth mentioning that the Odisha government had earlier rejected the Ayushman Bharat scheme, citing that its own health scheme is much better than the central scheme.