SP govt aided only its own people; we work for all UP residents: CM Yogi

Yogi added that all government employees are entitled to free healthcare under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Cashless Health Scheme

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday targeted the Samajwadi Party, accusing it of selectively doling out financial help to SP-affiliated individuals during its reign and branding all welfare initiatives under the party name.

In contrast, the BJP government is working sensitively for every resident of the state, Adityanath asserted.

Responding to opposition queries in the legislative council, he said, "It is no longer difficult for any poor person to receive medical treatment. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and the Chief Minister's Jan Arogya Yojana, 10 crore people in Uttar Pradesh receive health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh per year."  He added that all government employees are entitled to free healthcare under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Cashless Health Scheme. Furthermore, MLAs and MLCs have the authority to allocate funds from their annual budgets to financially assist those in need.

The chief minister highlighted that in the past seven-and-a-half years, funds from the CM's discretionary corpus have been allocated without discrimination. "There is no bias based on caste, region, or language. If the district magistrate submits a report within three days, the required funds are released immediately," he said.

Targeting the opposition, Adityanath accused the previous SP government of selective assistance. "During their tenure, it was common knowledge that only SP-affiliated individuals received financial help, while others were ignored," he claimed.

He further slammed the erstwhile SP government for branding all welfare initiatives under its name.

"Every scheme was labelled 'Samajwadi.' Even bus services, despite being funded by the government, were called 'Samajwadi Bus Service.' Similarly, public funds were used for the 'Samajwadi Pension Scheme.' In their time, even government money became 'Samajwadi,'" he remarked.

In contrast, Adityanath asserted that his government ensures financial aid is distributed fairly and increases allocations when needed. He also highlighted the expansion of medical infrastructure, stating that before 2017, Uttar Pradesh had only 17 medical colleges, whereas today, every district has one.

Discussing improvements in healthcare, he noted that his government has appointed highly qualified medical professionals across various institutions and expanded facilities at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow.

"Our administration has established eight new departments at SGPGI," he added.