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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday termed the Ayushman Bharat health scheme as the "biggest scam" in India, following the Supreme Court’s decision to stay a Delhi High Court order. The High Court had directed the Delhi government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Health Ministry by January 5, 2025, for the implementation of the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) in Delhi. This order was aimed at ensuring the scheme’s full rollout in the national capital to provide healthcare benefits to underprivileged citizens.
The Delhi government opposed the High Court’s order, arguing that the matter should be treated as a policy issue and not be dictated by the Centre. In response, the Delhi government filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the High Court’s directive. The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih, granted the stay on the High Court’s order and issued notices to the Centre and other stakeholders to respond to the Delhi government’s objections.
The PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) is a nationwide initiative aimed at providing financial protection and improving access to quality healthcare services for economically disadvantaged populations. While the scheme has been implemented in 33 states and Union Territories, Delhi has not yet adopted it, leading to a legal dispute between the Delhi government and the Centre. The Delhi High Court, in its December 2024 ruling, had emphasized that Delhi's delay in signing the MoU was unjustified, given that other regions had already benefited from the scheme.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, argued that the Delhi government should not be compelled to sign the MoU, as the decision to implement the scheme should rest with the local administration. The Delhi government has maintained that the scheme could have been implemented with local modifications and that imposing a national-level scheme without local consultation is inappropriate.
The Supreme Court’s stay has temporarily halted the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi. The case will now be further examined by the Supreme Court, with the Delhi government continuing to resist the forced implementation of the scheme. The legal proceedings will determine the future course of action regarding Ayushman Bharat in Delhi, including whether the Delhi government will be required to adopt the scheme as mandated by the High Court or allowed to negotiate its terms of implementation.