Chandigarh, January 25
Senior Congress leader and MLA from Bholath, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, today strongly condemned what he termed as the blatant politicisation of the recently announced ₹10 lakh Health Insurance Scheme by the Bhagwant Mann led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab. Khaira said the Congress party strongly opposes what appears to be a mischievous strategy by the AAP government to hijack a public welfare scheme for partisan benefit at the cost of the state exchequer. Referring to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the government, Khaira pointed out that the scheme’s implementation is proposed to be carried out through so called “Youth Club Coordinators”, who, he alleged, are in reality AAP party workers operating under a different designation.
“This SOP exposes a deeply questionable plan where government schemes are being routed through individuals linked to the ruling party instead of the official administrative machinery. This is nothing but a cheap and unethical attempt to create the impression among the people of Punjab that AAP is personally providing health insurance to them,” Khaira said. He said public welfare schemes are funded by taxpayers’ money and must remain strictly non-political, transparent, and administered only through duly authorised government departments and officials.
Khaira further demanded, “That the government immediately withdraw the arrangement involving Youth Club Coordinators in the scheme’s rollout. That official government staff be deployed for appointments, enrolment and distribution of health cards to eligible beneficiaries. That clear guidelines be issued to ensure no political branding or party linked individuals are involved in execution of the scheme.”
Khaira added that the public money cannot be used to build political image. “Welfare schemes belong to the people of Punjab not to any political party,” he asserted. Khaira warned that if the government fails to rectify what he described as a “politically motivated and improper arrangement,” he and his party would be left with no option but to approach the Punjab & Haryana High Court seeking directions to ensure transparency, neutrality, and lawful implementation of the scheme.
