BJP MPs from Delhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Bansuri Swaraj, Yogendra Chandolia, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and Praveen Khandelwal, in joint statement on Thursday informed that the Delhi High Court has sent a notice to the government regarding the implementation of Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme in the national capital.

According to the MPs, this development raises the hope of implementation of the Central health scheme in the capital. They recalled that during the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party had pledged in its manifesto to implement the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in the national capital.

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According to the saffron party’s state unit, a petition in this regard was filed in the high court which has now came up for started hearing.

Bidhuri said during a session of the Delhi Assembly, former Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia had announced in front of Arvind Kejriwal that the scheme would be implemented in the city. However, it has not been implemented to date.

The MP said BJP MLAs have repeatedly raised this issue in the Assembly, but due to alleged political animosity came in the way of the implementation of the scheme.

He further said that after the elections, all seven MPs from Delhi approached the high court. Now, the court issued a notice to the Delhi government.

Bidhuri also announced a signature campaign from December 1 to December 7 to push for the implementation of the scheme in Delhi. According to the BJP leader, senior citizens’ signatures will be collected in a door-to-door campaign, and camps will be organised in various wards.

He reiterated that if the BJP forms a government after the upcoming polls, the Ayushman Bharat Scheme would be implemented in the very first cabinet meeting.

New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj, who is representing the BJP in the court, said the high court scheduled the next hearing for December 11. She
noted that during the hearing, the court observed that Delhi’s healthcare system has often seemed to falter, with the Delhi government citing financial constraints. It has asked why the AAP government is not implementing a scheme like Ayushman Bharat in Delhi.

Swaraj also pointed out that in March 2024, the then Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had stated that the Centre was prepared to provide Rs 47 crore annually to Delhi for the implementation of the scheme.

She also appealed to AAP chief Kejriwal to abandon his political stubbornness and implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the benefit of Delhi’s residents.