Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pawar pulled up Andhra Pradesh Health Department officials after she did not see the Prime Minister’s photograph on display, at the Wellness Centres on Monday.
Pawar, further, threatened them with show cause notices saying that the logos of Central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and PM Jan Arogya are also off from these centres.
The State Government officials faced the Union Minister’s ire as she pointed out that though the State was implementing the various schemes with financial assistance of the Centre, it was unfortunate that they were not willing to give credit to the Centre. She lost her cool as she was visiting an Ayushman Bharat Wellness Centre at Bhavanipuram in Vijayawada.
“If these (logos) are not there how will people come to know? Why did I come here if it is not under the Ministry of Health? This is not done. There are so many guidelines, proper mandated ones but nobody is following them here,” said a visibly angry Pawar.
She said, “All of you will be issued show cause notices. I will now order an IEC (information, education and communication) audit, You are not displaying anything even after we provide a budget,” said the minister.
Later, the Twitter handle of Andhra Pradesh BJP tweeted a video of the Union Minister lashing out at the health staff for the State Government’s failure to give credit to the Centre or displaying the Prime Minister‘s photograph despite receiving funds. The Union Minister was in Guntur to attend BJP’s Lok Sabha Pravas meet concentrating on those seats where the party was weak.
Notably, last year Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman had publicly pulled up the collector of Kamareddy district in Telangana after she found a fair price shop in Birkur without the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on display. She asked him about the share of Centre’s contribution for providing free rice to the poor.
Often BJP leaders have accused the State Governments in non BJP run States of not giving enough credit to the Centre or changing the very names of the centrally sponsored schemes to mislead the public and claiming the schemes to be their own.