Bengal First to Opt Out of ‘Modicare’, Why “Waste” Funds Asks Didi

“But why should the state spend on another programme when it already has its own?” Mamata Banerjee said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

(Photo: IANS)

West Bengal became the first state to opt out of the National Health Protection Scheme that had proposes to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families, granting up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care in the Union Budget presentation, Times of India reported.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on 13 February, said that West Bengal would not “waste” its resources to contribute to the proposed ‘Ayushman Bharat Programme’ when the state already has its own programme. Times of India quoted CM Banerjee as saying:

The Centre has drawn up a health plan in which 40 percent of the fund has to come from states. But why should the state spend on another programme when it already has its own? A state will have its own scheme if it has the resources.

According to the CEO of Niti Aayog Amitabh Kant, the health scheme will cost the centre Rs 5,500-6,000 crore every year, Times of India reported.

Banerjee also took a dig at the centre over touting its Union Budget as pro-farmer, pointing out that as many as 12,000 farmers committed suicide in India, out of the which the highest number of suicides came from the BJP ruled Maharashtra.

“Our government has waived land rent for farmers. We also gave Rs 1,200 crore as relief to about 30 lakh farmers’ families when their crops were damaged by unseasonal rain,” she told the daily.