Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that the Congress, during its previous 15 years of rule in Assam, “pocketed” Rs 150 crore per annum from the state healthcare budget.
The BJP, on the other hand, has transformed the sector within its 10 years of rule in the state, Shah said.
Inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for healthcare projects worth Rs 2,092 crore, he said, “Assam’s healthcare was in shambles 10 years ago as Congress worked only for the financial health of its leaders’ families.”
Alleging that there was corruption in the sector during the Congress rule till 2016, the Union minister said, “For 15 years, every year, Rs 150 crore from the state’s health budget was pocketed by them.”
“This money was shown as spent for treatment of 9 lakh children who were never born and 390 Anganwadi centres that were never constructed,” he said.
After Himanta Biswa Sarma became the CM, he brought Assam’s medical facilities at par with states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, Shah said, adding that the BJP works for affordable healthcare for all sections of society.
“In the last 10 years, Assam has become self-reliant in both medical care and education sectors,” he added.
Shah noted that Assam is the only state where the government is procuring a proton therapy machine for cancer treatment, which is currently available in expensive private facilities.
He said nearly 92 per cent of the state’s population is covered under medical insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh per year, including state government employees who receive cashless treatment benefits.
“When I asked Sarma how people manage to pay for treatment that exceeds Rs 5 lakh, he said the government asks big industries to cover it through their corporate social responsibility funds,” Shah added.
The state’s progress in healthcare is reflected in improvement in indices such as maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate and institutional delivery, the Union minister said.
Attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said that no Indian supports his acts of “defaming” the country in his bid to oppose the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He lambasted the Congress for its “shirtless” protest at the recent AI summit in New Delhi and Gandhi for having ‘chai-pakora’ on the stairs of Parliament House.
“We were also in the opposition and staged protests against the government, but there is a right platform for it,” he said.
“Parliament is a sacred seat of democracy. Its stairs should not be used for even dharnas. And Rahul Gandhi was having ‘chai-pakora’ there. Doesn’t he know where to have his breakfast?” the Union minister said.
Earlier, Shah inaugurated the Rs 675-crore Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital in Guwahati, at a programme held on its premises.
He also virtually inaugurated two cancer centres at Golaghat and Tinsukia, both under Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore each.
Shah virtually laid the foundation stone for super-speciality hospitals at Diphu Medical College and Hospital (Rs 220 crore), Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (Rs 310 crore), and Barpeta Medical College and Hospital (Rs 284 crore).
The foundation stone for a Rs 218-crore Swasthya Bhawan in Guwahati, and the Abhayapuri District Hospital (Rs 115 crore) were also laid by the Union home minister.
Shah arrived here on Saturday evening on a two-day visit to Assam, his fourth visit to the northeastern state in four months.
