Mamata Banerjee Pulls Out Of Ayushman Bharat Over PM Modi’s Photo, Refuses To Pay State’s Share Of Scheme

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has pulled out of the flagship Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme by alleging that the Centre is taking “all the credit” for the scheme aimed at providing health cover up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year.

She also accused the Centre of using Prime Minister Modi’s photo and a lotus logo for the scheme, reports Indian Express.

“Today I saw a copy of the letter. It mentions the name of the Prime Minister and has his photograph. There is also a logo which looks like the lotus flower. That flower symbolises their corruption and conspiracy. This is very unfortunate,” said Banerjee at a rally in Bengal’s Krishnanagar.

She then announced West Bengal’s withdrawal from the scheme and stated that they won’t pay their share of money. The centre would now have to foot the whole bill for the state.

The West Bengal government has reportedly also sent a letter to the Modi government over its intent to pull out of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan (PMJAY) scheme.

Ayushman Bharat CEO Dr Indu Bhusan dismissed Banerjee’s charges saying, “Our cards do not have a photo of the Prime Minister, they are completely apolitical. The letter (that features Modi) is only a way of telling beneficiaries about the scheme”.