Bhubaneswar: Amid speculations over who would be the next chief minister of Odisha, state BJP president Manmohan Samal Wednesday said that the party’s parliamentary board will take a decision on it in a day or two.
Samal said the main agenda of the new government would be to replace the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) of the BJD government with the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme.
“BSKY has a limited scope. Therefore, the new BJP government would implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. It will also benefit around 1.5 crore Odias living outside the state,” he said.
Samal also clarified the false rumours on the BSKY health card. He described it as most unfortunate that some private hospitals in Odisha have started refusing to admit patients, claiming that the BSKY health card has been withdrawn.
Samal emphasized that “diseases and patients have no caste, religion, or party affiliation”, adding that it is the primary responsibility of every government to provide healthcare facilities to all citizens.
The BJP President remarked that “the change of government is a process and using this as a pretext to deprive people of healthcare is a social and constitutional offence.” He urged private hospital authorities to desist from such actions and provide quality healthcare to the people.
Samal also asked the administration to keep a close watch on these false rumours.
Speaking to reporters, he also pointed out that PM Narendra Modi during an election rally in Berhampur had said that the new BJP chief minister would take oath June 10.
“The selection of the CM will be based on the criteria set by the PM — an Odia who will uphold the culture and tradition of the state will be the next chief minister of Odisha,” Samal said.
Maintaining that all commitments made by the BJP before the polls would be fulfilled, he said that the Assembly election was fought to protect Odia pride, culture and tradition.
“The people trusted BJP’s assurances and the new government will certainly work for those. People have rejected the idea of a non-Odia CM and voted for the BJP,” he added.
Stating that the BJP was confident of its victory, he said it was people who fought the elections as they were fed up with the “corrupt” BJD government.
BJP won the Assembly elections, bagging 74 seats in the 147-member House, and routed the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government that ruled the state for 24 years.
Speculations were rife over who would be the next CM of the state. Among the names making rounds are Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has already gone to Delhi, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi.
PNN & Agencies