Healthcare Scheme: Amit Shah hits out at Arvind Kejriwal for his 'Jumla' comment, says ' Delhi losing out due to AAP'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Sunday launched a fresh attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after he claimed that Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme launched by PM Modi is a public relation exercise and another "Jumla" (rhetoric). Hitting out at CM Kejriwal, Amit Shah said that Delhi will be deprived of Scheme's benefits and the poor will suffer because of AAP politics. He also added that AAP is indulging in Political opportunism. 

Earlier on Sunday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) termed the scheme "another white elephant in the making" and alleged that it covers only six lakh out of 50 lakh families in Delhi. It also claimed that 'Mohalla Clinics' are better than Ayushman Bharat scheme. 

"Pl read - why Ayushman Bharat is another PR exercise and will prove another jumla," Kejriwal said in a tweet while referring to the AAP statement.

Read: PM Modi's 'Ayushman Bharat' A PR Exercise, Will Prove To Be Another Jumla: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

Apart from AAP, Kerala's Left Democratic Front said that the scheme is not feasible and called it a hoax.  K. Chandrashekar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi also added that the Aarogya scheme covers only 70% of the population. Not far behind, Naveen Patnaik's BJD claimed that Biju Swasthya Yojana is better than the Ayushman scheme. 

Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Launches PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat, Terms It Biggest Public Funded Healthcare Scheme

Earlier on Sunday, the Prime Minister rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)-Ayushman Bharat from Ranchi and termed it a "game-changer initiative to serve the poor". The health scheme would come into effect from today (Sunday), he said.

Addressing a public gathering during the event, Prime Minister Modi said, "We are witnessing the special moment which in future will surely be regarded as one of the biggest service in welfare of mankind. We are taking a significant step to ensure that poor of the poorest get medical assistance and better medical facilities are provided to them. In over 400 districts of India, such an event is being organized and they will take forward the programme which we will start from here."

He also took a dig at past governments and said, "I was told that since Independence, Jharkhand only had three medical colleges and 350 students, and now after last four year we are looking at 8 medical colleges and 1200 students. I don't think there can be a bigger example of how a work is done at a rapid pace."

Elaborating further on the massive structure of the PMJAY scheme, Prime Minister Modi said that the number of beneficiaries of this scheme can be compared to the population of many countries combined together.