Partap Singh Bajwa, leader of the opposition in the Punjab assembly, accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led state government of misleading the public through its much-hyped healthcare infrastructure and the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY).
Bajwa noted that although the 2025-26 budget allocated almost $778 crore for the scheme, reportedly failed to treat a single patient despite being ‘inaugurated’ five times. “This is perhaps the only health plan in the country where hundreds of billions of taxpayer money has been burned on billboards, publicity stunts and advertisements without providing health care to a single beneficiary,” he said.
Terming the scheme a “cruel joke” for the people of Punjab, Bajwa demanded that the AAP government be held accountable for its failure to implement the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme before launching another insurance programme. He reminded the government that the Punjab and Haryana high court has already taken note of repeated delays in payments to cluster hospitals, exposing “empty claims” of healthcare reform.
Launched in 2018, Ayushman Bharat guarantees free treatment of up to $5 lakh per family, with expenses shared in the ratio of 60:40 between the Center and the states. However, Bajwa said the Punjab government has failed to clarify further $500 crores in dues to private hospitals, throwing healthcare system into chaos.
Bajwa called the government’s conduct “blatantly insincere” and noted that 320 newly recruited doctors have remained in administrative limbo for months. “Instead of issuing appointment letters…the government now plans to hire 300 private specialists to offset a shocking 47% vacancy rate. Is healthcare outsourcing the ‘revolution’ Punjab was promised?” asked.
