'Bengal provides free healthcare to all 10 crore people in the state'

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for misinforming people regarding implementation of Ayushman Bharat in Bengal even as the state government is providing better benefits to its entire 10 crore population under the Swasthya Sathi scheme.

Making people aware of Swasthya Sathi scheme's uniqueness over Ayushman Bharat, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien tweeted: "Do you know @narendramodi ji, Swasthya Sathi is not at all linked to the Modi govt. You give free health to a few. Bengal provides free healthcare to all 10 crore people in the state."

O'Brien mentioned that "100 per cent of the population of Bengal is covered" under the Swasthya Sathi scheme while only "40 per cent of the country's population" can reap the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced Swasthya Sathi cards in the name of the female head of the family as a step towards women empowerment. The same is being distributed through Duare Sarkar camps. O'Brien took a dig at the Prime Minister further stating in his tweet: "When you are not busy running down Bengal, here's a revealing chart (containing comparative study) you might want to look at."

This comes when, according to Trinamool Congress, BJP leaders are trying to mislead people saying that the state government is depriving the residents of the state by not implementing Ayushman Bharat. In this connection, the Chief Minister repeatedly said they were misleading people for political gains despite knowing well that the Swasthya Sathi scheme was introduced (in 2016) 2 years before Ayushman Bharat's launch.

Moreover, the state bears the entire cost for the Swasthya Sathi Prakalpa helping people to get its benefit completely free-of-cost. Under Ayushman Bharat, the Centre's share is 60 per cent and the state government needs to contribute the remaining 40 per cent of the project cost. As a result, the state government spent Rs 2,000 crore in this fiscal for

the project.