Union health minister J.P. Nadda on Friday launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in Odisha and asserted that it would soon be implemented in Bengal as well.

Odisha, Delhi and Bengal were opposing the implementation of the scheme. With the change of government in Odisha and Delhi, the scheme is now being implemented in these states, but Bengal continues to resist it.

The scheme will be implemented along with the Odisha government’s health scheme, Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY).

On this occasion, Nadda distributed the new Ayushman Bharat Unified Card, under which a beneficiary can avail of the benefits of both the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and the state-sponsored Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana.

Earlier, the Naveen Patnaik government had opposed the Ayushman Bharat and did not implement it, stating that its own health scheme, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, was much more alluring. After the Mohan Majhi government came to power, it replaced the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana with the Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana.

The implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme turned into a major political issue during the general election. The BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union minister J.P. Nadda, targeted the Naveen Patnaik-led government on this. The BJP also announced that it would implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana once it came to power.

Launching the scheme at the Bali Yatra field in Cuttack, Nadda said: “The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Modi at Ranchi in 2018. I had requested Naveen Babu to implement. But Naveen Babu didn’t pay heed to it — not to us, not even to the people of the state”

Nadda said three states — Odisha, Delhi and Bengal — were opposing the Ayushman Bharat. “The people responded in the most democratic way and now kamal (lotus) reigns in Odisha and Delhi. People have given us the mandate. We had also requested Kejriwal to implement the scheme in Delhi. But he, too, ignored it. The people have given their answer too in Delhi,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Mamata Banerjee government without naming her, Nadda said: “We will ensure Ayushman Bharat reaches Bengal too. No state should be denied access to better healthcare facilities.”

Chief minister Mohan Majhi also slammed the previous BJD government on this issue and said that they did not implement the scheme for narrow political interests. “The people too realised why the BJD government was not implementing the scheme and later changed the government.”

Majhi said about the scheme: “3.4 crore people belonging to 1.03 crore families would benefit from this scheme. Each member of the family will get a card.”

Each family will get an insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh, and for the women, the insurance coverage would be ₹10 lakh. The people would avail the medical facilities in around 29 hospitals acrossthe country.

“This is the gift of the double-engine government led by Modi to the people of the state,” said Majhi, adding that his government would set up four more medical colleges in the state.

Union minister Jual Oram also spoke on the occasion and targeted the then BJD government for not implementing the scheme and made a veiled attack on V.K. Pandian, the close aide of Naveen Patnaik

All the top leaders of the BJP, including the two deputy chief ministers K.V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Odisha health minister Mukesh Mahaling, Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda, Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab and others were present on the occasion. Chief minister also wrote articles in the papers about the launch of the scheme.