New Delhi [India], April 10 (ANI): Union Health Minister JP Nadda sharply criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for blocking the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Delhi during their tennure, calling it a 'dark' chapter.

JP Nadda, along with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, distributed the Ayushman cards to beneficiaries in the national capital on Thursday.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, launched on 23rd September 2018, has been a game-changer in healthcare, mainly for the millions of poor and vulnerable families across the country. In just five years, it enabled them with timely access and quality healthcare without burdening them with catastrophic health expenditure during medical emergencies.

Addressing the public during the event, Nadda said, 'Delhi was going through a dark chapter for seven years when 36 lakh eligible people were deprived of their rights. You should be compelled to think about how your rights are violated when a poor government is in power and that when a good government comes to power, you get your rights within 50 days.'

Nadda further expressed confidence that his party would win in West Bengal, the only state where the Ayushman Bharat Yojana has not been implemented yet.

'Three states had refused to implement Ayushman. The first was Odisha, where the previous government lost power, and then the lotus bloomed. The same happened in Delhi. Now, only West Bengal is left, where the lotus will bloom, and the current government will lose power,' Nadda said.

Criticizing the previous AAP government, he said, 'You (Arvind Kejriwal) used to say that (the BJP) will have to be reborn to form a government in Delhi. But we accomplished it in this life only. Then, Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj went to the Supreme Court and said that they would not let Ayushman be implemented in Delhi. All of you should take a pledge that you will not let such a government be formed in Delhi ever again.'

On the Ayushman Bharat scheme being rolled out in Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, 'This is a matter of great joy. Today is a day of celebration for Delhi... A grant of Rs 2400 crores has been given by the Centre for Delhi's health infrastructure... The people of Delhi will now be able to avail of health benefits. 'Acche din ab shuru ho gaye hain'...'

On Saturday, Delhi became the 35th state and Union Territory to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) after the National Health Authority (NHA) of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Delhi government.

The agreement was signed between L.S. Changsan, Additional Secretary, MoHFW and Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority (NHA), and Dr. S.B. Deepak Kumar, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of NCT Delhi, on Saturday.

The signing ceremony was presided over by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, and Delhi Minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh. (ANI)