‘Aarogyasri another form of  Ayushman Bharat’

VIJAYAWADA:  Public health scheme Aarogyasri in Andhra Pradesh is not an original scheme of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and it is another form of Ayushman Bharat, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserted BJP national president JP Nadda. Addressing Shakti Kendra Pramukh Sammelan in Vijayawada on Monday, the first day of his two-day visit to the State, Nadda said the Central programme is being publicised as the State scheme. “Under Ayushman Bharat, treatment up to `5 lakh is provided to poor people across the country. Even if a beneficiary gets treated in Hyderabad or elsewhere in the country, he will get medical reimbursement. However, Aarogyasri is confined to AP only,” he said. 

Nadda said not just Ayushman Bharat, but there are several other schemes like electrical connections under Saubhagya, PM Kisan Samman Yojana, that have benefited people of AP. “These things need to be told to people by party functionaries at booth level, so they will know the facts,” he said. 

The BJP chief, who described his party as the only national party in the country, said it is contesting against family-based parties from Jammu and Kashmir to down South in almost every State. “In J&K, it (the BJP) is against NCF which is a party of father and son, in UP, it is against the Baap Beta party. In Bihar, it is against Lalu and Tejashwi, in AP, it is against YSRC and TDP, and in Telangana, it is against the TRS, which is ‘Baap, Beta, Beti, Bathija’ and in the future, even grandson party,” he remarked.

It is only in BJP, where a common man can become a Prime Minister like Narendra Modi, he asserted and cautioned people that family politics poses a grave threat to nation. Nadda commenced his speech stating that it was a good omen to discuss the roadmap for strengthening the party from the land, which is known as land of victory and success.  In his more than 30 minutes speech, the BJP chief’s focus was on how the party should be strengthened from the booth-level, so as to emerge as a main contender in 2024 elections and win the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats from the State. 

He wanted all the 46,000 booth level committees to become proactive in publicising what Modi Sarkar did to Andhra Pradesh in the last eight years, which has been brought out in the form of a book. He wanted Shakti Kendra Pramukhs to form booth level committees and bring all sections of the society into the BJP fold. He urged them to visit every household and see the BJP flag flutters on each house. “You all should interact with people, know their problems, check if the Central schemes are reaching the beneficiaries or not,” he said. Further, they were directed to interact with five new people daily and explain the BJP ideology to them.