New Delhi, Dec 18
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a free healthcare scheme for the city's elderly and for senior citizens, which they can avail at all government as well as private hospitals.
The party supremo, flanked by Delhi CM Atishi and senior Cabinet ministers, made the announcement at a public event and declared that all residents of the city above 60 years of age will get free medical treatment under the ‘Sanjeevani yojana’.
Under the scheme, all the elderly will avail medical treatment for free, however, this can be implemented after the AAP returns to power next year, he said.
The move, dubbed by political rivals as yet another ‘lollipop’, comes just months ahead of Delhi Assembly elections.
While the AAP states that its policies are oriented towards public welfare, the BJP calls it a brazen attempt to woo the electorate with freebies and doles.
Kejriwal also told the gathering that AAP workers will shortly visit the homes of city residents to get their registrations done for the ‘Sanjeevni scheme’.
“Once we come to power after the elections, this will be implemented,” he said.
The AAP’s social media handle also sought to create a buzz over Kejriwal’s pledge of free treatment.
Slogans like ‘Beta ho toh aisa, Kejriwal jaisa (it’s good to have a son like Kejriwal)’ and ‘bina shart milega ilaaj (Free treatment without any condition)’ were shared by the AAP’s social media handle to generate the buzz about the party’s guarantee on free healthcare for the city’s senior residents.
Notably, the 'Sanjeevani scheme’ comes days after Kejriwal announced the launch of Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojna, a scheme devised for women.
Under the yojana, women beneficiaries will receive monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 which would be raised to Rs 2,100 after the elections.
However, this is also a pre-poll promise and would see light of the day, only if the AAP emerges victorious in the upcoming polls.
The AAP is seeking a third-consecutive full term in Delhi, following a landslide victory in 2020, when it won 62 out of 70 seats.
The upcoming elections will be a test of the party's governance model.