West Bengal To Become First State To Opt Out Of ‘Modicare’

West Bengal is set to become the first state to express its displeasure over the National Healthcare Protection scheme (Modicare) which was uncovered in Union Budget of 2018. The WB Chief Mamata Banerjee proclaimed that she will not “waste” the hard-earned resources to contribute to this scheme.

CM Banerjee also made a point while addressing a public gathering in Krishnanagar that the state will not run a parallel healthcare scheme being forced by the centre when already their State government has its own healthcare scheme (i.e. Swasthya Sathi Scheme). She also mentioned that Centre wants State government to bear 40% of the funds for this scheme, which seems economically burdening and operationally redundant.

While Niti Ayog has captured the centre’s health plan to cost Rs 5500-6000 crore a year, it has provisionally allocated 2000 crore only from the central government’s budgetary allocation.

CM Banerjee also snubbed at Centre’s Beti Bachao Project which has allocated only Rs 100 crore for the entire country whereas she proudly states Rs 5000 allocation for their own Kanyashree Project, which is an initiative taken by the Government of West Bengal to improve the life and the status of the girls by helping economically backward families with cash so that families do not arrange the marriage of their girl child before eighteen years because of economic problem.

While criticising further, she laments the central government for the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill (FRDI) which said to have allowed the banks to take away portions of one’s fixed deposits (FD). She asserts that she wants to repeal this bill and have requested the centre for the action to withdraw this. CM Banerjee left no stone unturned while deploring demonetisation and GST (Goods and Services Tax) on this occasion. In addition to that, she also ticked off the centre’s policy by saying that the existing government is not taking enough measures to stop farmer suicides in the entire country. Furthermore, she claimed that BJP ruled Maharashtra has the highest number of farmer suicidal cases.

According to her announcement in the same gathering, she reiterates that West Bengal has waived land rent for farmers and subsequently given Rs 1200 crore to 30 lakh famers in the state. While appealing to vote for Trinamool Congress (TMC) in coming Panchayat polls, she also announced an increment of Rs 250 in farmers’ pension within the state.