Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday offered “full help” to the Bihar government, including sending medical teams, ambulances, paramedical teams and medicines, in the wake of deaths of children due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).
At a press conference, Mr. Sisodia said that the Delhi government will contact the Bihar government on the issue and added that the central government's Ayushman Bharat scheme was not helping the people of Bihar.
“During such a severe healthcare crisis, it becomes clear that what the people truly need is a strong network of healthcare infrastructure, not insurance schemes such as Ayushman Bharat. Instead of enriching insurance companies, the government should have focused on building Mohalla Clinics, Poly Clinics, adding capacity to existing hospitals and building more hospitals. More beds, more ICUs, more modern machinery is the need of the hour,” Mr. Sisodia, said, adding: “Ayushman Bharat Scheme is nothing but a white elephant.”
Health Minister Satyendar Jain asked why children suffering from AES in Bihar are not being treated at private hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
‘A state run by the BJP’
In a separate statement, AAP chief Spokesperson, Saurabh Bharadwaj said: “It is also distressing that this is happening in Bihar, a State run by the BJP, which was one of the early adopters of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The Prime Minister has been claiming that lakhs of people have benefited from the scheme, but it is incomprehensible that if this scheme is designed to treat poor patients in private hospitals free of cost, then why is this happening in Bihar?
He said that it is a very serious issue that the Ayushman Bharat scheme has severe shortcomings and is not helping the poor. “Before forcing the scheme on others, the Centre should reconsider the scheme, identify the shortcomings and fix the problems in the scheme,” he added.