Ayushman Bharat a PR exercise, will prove to be another jumla: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed that Ayushman Bharat, the healthcare scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, is a public relation exercise which will prove to be another "jumla" (rehtoric).

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) termed the scheme "another white elephant in the making" and alleged that it covers only six lakh out of 50 lakh families in Delhi.

"Pl read - why Ayushman Bharat is another PR exercise and will prove another jumla," Kejriwal said in tweet while referring to the AAP statement.

The prime minister rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)-Ayushman Bharat from Ranchi Sunday, and termed it a "game-changer initiative to serve the poor". The health scheme would come into effect from today (Sunday), he said.

"PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat is the biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the world. The number of beneficiaries is almost equal to the population of Canada, Mexico and the US taken together," Modi said.

The AAP, in its statement, said it was of the view a universal healthcare scheme is a must for the country and Ayushman Bharat is "not at all a universal scheme and is designed in manner which is bound to fail".

"The Ayushman Bharat Scheme, designed by the Modi government caters only to secondary and tertiary requirements. It gives a miss to the most important, the primary healthcare. The Modi government plans to climb the ladder of healthcare without laying a foundation; which is one of the reasons why the AAP terms the scheme as flawed. Without a strong foundation, it is destined to fall," it said.

The ruling party in Delhi claimed that there were flaws in the newly launched scheme, including that it skips primary healthcare.

It alleged that the scheme only for patients admitted to a healthcare facility, it is insurance without infrastructure, there are scope of fraud and corruption, and the rules are too soft rules for hospitals.

The Delhi model of healthcare is quite opposite to it and the AAP government has built mohalla clinics, polyclinics, hospitals and is strengthening the existing setup so that everyone has a healthcare centre at their doorstep, the statement by AAP said.