'You opposed Ayushman Bharat scheme only because...': Delhi L-G hits back at Arvind Kejriwal on central scheme implementation 

Ayushman Bharat scheme: Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, VK Saxena, hit back at former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following his claims that the central Ayushman Bharat scheme had several loopholes, while the Delhi's healthcare model was far better.  

The Lieutenant Governor, in a post on X, said that the Delhi CM opposed the Ayushman Bharat scheme only and only because you wanted your name to be associated with this scheme in some way or the other.

"I do not take cognizance of your baseless statements, but this post is about a very people-oriented scheme of the Government of India - Ayushman Bharat, which benefits crores of Indians. You have kept lakhs of people of Delhi deprived of this scheme till now only because of the fear that its implementation may reveal the truth of the false health model being promoted by you and your habit of taking false credit for everything may get exposed. You opposed the Ayushman Bharat scheme only and only because you wanted your name to be associated with this scheme in some way or the other," the Lieutenant Governor said in the post.

He claimed in June 2018, the Health Department of the government recommended the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in the public interest due to its numerous benefits. The then Health Minister approved the implementation of the scheme in Delhi. Subsequently, in August 2018, the government proposed renaming the Ayushman Bharat scheme as the "Chief Minister Aam Aadmi Health Insurance Scheme Ayushman Bharat.

The L-G further wrote: "In June 2018 itself, the Health Department of your government had recommended implementing this scheme in public interest in view of its benefits and the then Health Minister had given permission to implement the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in Delhi. After that, in August 2018, your government talked about naming the Ayushman Bharat scheme as “Chief Minister Aam Aadmi Health Insurance Scheme Ayushman Bharat”. The Government of India, which bears most of the cost of this scheme, has also agreed to your self-glorification by simply asking you to use your name after “Ayushman Bharat”. Thereafter, acknowledging the benefits that the poor people would get from this scheme, in his Budget Speech for 2020-21, the then Deputy Chief Minister / Finance Minister also announced that your Government will implement “Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Yojana” in Delhi and will provide insurance assistance of Rs 5 lakh to every family under it. Despite this, your narcissism and hunger for publicity has not allowed the Delhi government to implement this scheme till now."

He further claimed the health model in Delhi allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the construction of 24 hospitals, yet fails to address the critical need for 38,000 doctors and health workers to staff these facilities. Furthermore, these hospitals lack essential medical equipment such as machines, operation theaters, nursing stations, and mortuaries. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently examining corruption allegations related to tests conducted in "Mohalla Clinics," which are visibly lacking in quality and resources, he said.

"Delhi's health model is one where Rs 10,000 crore is spent on building 24 hospitals, but no provision is made for the appointment of 38,000 doctors and health workers in these hospitals. Shelters are made in the form of buildings, but no machine, operation theatre, nursing station or even a mortuary is provided in them... The Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) implemented in hospitals of many states of the country has not been implemented in Delhi government hospitals yet. There is no information about how many beds are vacant, how crowded is the OPD, how many people are getting the benefit of treatment," he said.

The LG claimed the patients in major hospitals of the Delhi Government, such as GTB, Lok Nayak, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, are facing deplorable conditions. The system in these hospitals is also noted to be in a poor and unclean state.

"Anyone can go and see the atrocious condition of patients and the poor condition and dirtiness of the system in the major hospitals of Delhi Government like GTB, Lok Nayak, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, etc. I myself had told you on the file that thousands of applications for financial assistance for treatment are received in my secretariat. These applications are mainly from laborers, vendors, drivers and domestic workers who neither have ration card nor voter card of Delhi. Due to this, they cannot even do Ayushman registration. Therefore, I had requested you to implement Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Delhi. Being the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, I have tried on several occasions, both verbally and by writing letters, to draw your attention to the poor healthcare system in Delhi, but you did not even take cognizance of it. You will easily know how much benefit the people of other states are getting from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana if you take the trouble of visiting hospitals like AIIMS, Safdarjung, RML, Sir Gangaram located in Delhi. If you want, I can send you the list," he said further.

What PM said 

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the state governments in Delhi and Bengal for not fully implementing the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme. During the inauguration of healthcare-related development projects and the expansion of Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, the Prime Minister highlighted that the elderly residents in Delhi and Bengal are missing out on the benefits of the scheme due to political reasons.

“I apologise to all the elderly people above 70 years of age in Delhi and all the elderly people above 70 years of age in West Bengal that I will not be able to serve you,” Modi said. “I apologize to them that I will know how you are, I will get the information but I will not be able to help you and the reason is that the government in Delhi and the government in West Bengal are not joining this Ayushman Yojana.”

What former Delhi CM said

On Wednesday, Arvind Kejriwal asserted that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India uncovered multiple irregularities in the Ayushman Bharat scheme. He raised doubts about its efficacy in comparison to Delhi's healthcare model. Kejriwal stated in a post on X that Delhi's model provides inclusive free healthcare for everyone, regardless of treatment expenses, whereas he believes the Ayushman Bharat scheme has strict eligibility requirements and lacks proper implementation.

"Under the Delhi government's scheme, every person living in Delhi gets complete treatment free of cost no matter how much it costs - from a pill worth five rupees to a treatment worth one crore, the Delhi government provides complete treatment to every person free of cost. If you tell me, I will send you the names of lakhs of people who have benefited from this," the former Delhi Chief Minister said.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh pointed out that the eligibility criteria for the scheme are excluding many individuals in need, even those who possess basic necessities such as refrigerators or motorcycles. 

He also stated that a large number of hospitals listed as participants in the scheme are not operational in reality, while those providing genuine healthcare services reportedly do not receive compensation from the central government.