"I apologize to all elderly people in Delhi, West Bengal": PM Modi tears into opponents of Ayushman Bharat Yojana

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday apologized to all the elderly people above 70 years of age in Delhi and West Bengal, due to the state governments' decision not to participate in the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and said that the walls of the political interests have hindered its implementation in their states.
Addressing the inauguration of various health projects at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in the national capital on the occasion of 9th Ayurveda Day, PM Modi said that the national health scheme aims to provide comprehensive coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh for hospitalization.
"I apologize 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. 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. Elderly in Delhi, Bengal won't be able to benefit from Ayushman Bharat as their governments not implementing it for political reasons," the PM said.
"The tendency to oppress the sick people of your own state for your political interests is against any humane attitude and hence I apologize to the elderly people of West Bengal, I apologize to the elderly people of Delhi, I can serve the people of the country, but the walls of the political profession are preventing me from serving the elderly people of Delhi, and West Bengal," he said.
Delhi and West Bengal are among the states where the Centre's Ayushman Bharat Yojna is not implemented.
He further said that the world is seeing India as a big centre of medical and wellness tourism.
Notably, the Ayushman Bharat Yojna is a scheme which aims to procure free access to health insurance coverage for families with low incomes. The scheme was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.