Patnaik govt says 'no' to Ayushman programme

Bhubaneswsar: In what appears to be a political stunt by the ruling BJD in Odisha to keep the rival BJP at the bay, state health and family welfare minister Pratap Jena on Thursday said that Ayushman Bharat programme of the Central government will not be implemented in the province.

The minister’s declaration comes two days after the Odisha government announced the “Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana” in the state.

Centre’s Ayushman Bharat programme was meant for 61 lakh families of Odisha, while Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana covers 70 lakh families of the state, the minister said.

“Keeping in view the interests of the people of our state, we are going to implement the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana,” health minister Mr Jena said, adding that the healthcare scheme of the state government was better than that of the Centre.

The BJP, however, questioned the state government’s wisdom for saying no to the Ayusman Bharat Programme.