BJP slams Rajasthan govt of hampering Bhamashah scheme implementation

The Congress government in Rajasthan is disrupting the execution of the Bhamashah health insurance scheme, introduced by the previous BJP regime, the saffron party claimed Saturday. Bhamashah is a direct benefit transfer scheme under which health insurance and medical treatment facilities are provided to the beneficiaries.

The Rajasthan unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the beneficiaries were not getting advantages due to the negligence of the Ashok Gehlot government. "The Congress government discontinued the scheme in an undeclared manner and payment of private hospitals which were empanelled was stopped," BJP MLA and former health minister Kalicharan Saraf told reporters.

"Poor people are facing difficulties due to the present government," he added. He also alleged that the Congress government had misled people over the free medicines scheme as several important medicines were not available to the common man.

The BJP government had launched the Bhamashah scheme in December 2015. It provides coverage of Rs 30,000 for general illnesses and Rs 3 lakh for critical illnesses, Saraf said, adding that nearly 21 lakh people benefitted from it in three years. The scheme was initially conceptualised in 2007-08 during former chief minister Vasundhara Raje's first tenure and Rs 160 crore was transferred to 29 lakh women card holders.