Naveen Patnaik Denied Odisha Ayushman Bharat Alleges JP Nadda
Bhubaneswar: BJP national president JP Nadda, on Friday, accused former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of blocking the Ayushman Bharat Yojana due to personal ego, which, he claimed, eroded public support for the BJD.
Speaking at the state-level launch of Ayushman Bharat in Cuttack, Nadda said the scheme, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 to provide annual health coverage of Rs.5 lakh per family, was deliberately kept out of Odisha by the previous regime despite repeated appeals.
“Naveen Babu’s arrogance kept a life-saving scheme from the people. We urged him multiple times, but he refused to budge – not even for Odisha’s poor,” Nadda said, adding that Odisha, along with Delhi and West Bengal, had rejected the scheme initially. “The people responded through the ballot and sent him home,” he remarked.
Highlighting the BJP’s commitment, Nadda announced that Ayushman Bharat has now been officially launched in Odisha. He also took a swipe at former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and warned West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee that political resistance would not stop the scheme’s expansion.
Nadda, accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and Union leaders, also launched the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana and Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY). The scheme now covers over 3 crore beneficiaries in Odisha and offers additional ₹5 lakh coverage for women.
“Thanks to PM Modi’s vision, out-of-pocket medical costs have dropped. This is not just insurance, it’s assurance,” Nadda said.
