In his first rally as a BJP leader, TMC-tunrcoat Rajib Banerjee attacked Mamata Banerjee’s flagship Swasthya Sathi healthcare programme, alleging that the West Bengal government did not have budget for it.

He started his speech with a sharp attack on the TMC for calling him a “traitor” and claimed that he would bring big businesses to West Bengal to protect the youths from leaving the state.

A day after joining BJP in New Delhi, Banerjee at the rally in Howrah’s Domjur, said, “I’ve never disrespected anyone in the party. If someone joins TMC they say it’s in the interest of development. But if someone leaves he is branded as traitor. They are running a misinformation campaign.

“Bengali people are very sad. A lot of work is left to be done. I’ve talked to Amit Shah Ji. The state has failed to protect its educated youths who leave the state for job. After we win, I’ll bring IT Sector companies to West Bengal. There’ll be other businesses as well.”

He further said, “What will you achieve fighting the Centre? The Lefts spent 34 years fighting the Cente. The current government has failed to get fund for the welfare of people. Whose fault is it? If there’s a same governement at the Centre and the state, golden Bengal will be reality.”

“There has been no development in Bengal. It has been proven with the state government’s ‘Duare Sarkar’ programme ahead of the election.

“We’ll be at the doorstep of people from the first day. They are giving ‘Swasthya Sathi’ card just before the election. They say each family will get 5 lakh rupees. If you provide 5 lakh to 1 crore family, the total will be Rs 5 lakh crore. What’s the budget of this state government. Swasthya Sathi is a scam,” the former Forest Minister of West Bengal government added.

Banerjee is not the first BJP leader to criticise the healthcare scheme. While the party’s unofficial stand has been calling it an “election stunt”, BJP state president in West Bengal Dilip Ghosh had called the scheme a bluff.

He had alleged that the TMC-led West Bengal government did not have budget to materialise the claims made through the welfare programme.

“If out of the state’s 10 crore population even 5% seeks its benefits, it would cost the state’s exchequer of Rs 50,000 crore a year. But this year the state’s health budget is altogether Rs 12,000 crore. Where will money for Swasthya Sathi come from,” the BJP leader had said.

However, West Bengal health secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam had countered Ghosh by pointing at flaws in his numbers.

“First of all, 5% of the state’s population getting hospitalised is a highly exaggerated rate. Never do so many people get hospitalised at once. It may at most be around 1% of the population. And second, the national average for per person expenditure in hospitals is around Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000. So, it’s very much manageable and within our budget allocation,” The Wire had quoted Nigam as saying.

The Bengal government has been providing benefits under ‘Swasthya Sathi’ since 2016. But the scheme has made headlines as a part of the state’s ‘Duare Sarkar’ initiative — a mass outreach programme for doorstep delivery of welfare benefits.