For AAP’s Gujarat outreach, Mann takes Punjab’s cashless treatment route

This is the “first state I have seen where both BJP and Congress are working together”, he alleged. The AAP was now filling the “vacuum of a real Opposition” in Gujarat, he claimed.

People are thus showing faith in the AAP as it raises their issues and works for the common man, said Mann, who was accompanied by AAP’s Gujarat unit chief, Isudan Gadhvi.

“In Gujarat, even if you have a minor health issue, you have to go to Ahmedabad, Vadodara or Surat. The middle layer is missing. In Punjab, we have set up Aam Aadmi clinics in villages where 42 kinds of tests are conducted and medicines are given for free. At the block level, there are small hospitals, then there are district hospitals,” the Punjab CM said.

Mann claimed that for the first time in the country, the Punjab government launched Mukhya Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY), enabling cashless treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh per family per year in both government and private empanelled hospitals in Punjab and Chandigarh. “Every family in Punjab is entitled to free medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh, without any conditions. There is no income criterion, no green or yellow card, or any such requirement. Only an Aadhaar card is required. The registration process is underway, and many have registered,” he said, adding that 3.5 crore people of Punjab would be benefited.

Mann claimed that in other countries, health schemes don’t cover dental and vision health but AAP’s initiative includes kidney transplant and cardiac issues to mental health and knee replacement.

He alleged that people don’t get houses under the PM Awas Yojana due to some conditions. “People first got gas cylinders under Ujwala yojana but when they apply for the Awas Yojana, the cylinder and stove are used to deny them homes. If you want to give something free, give it to everybody. We made 300 units per month electricity free for everyone in Punjab with no conditions. So 90 per cent of Punjab doesn’t pay electricity bill and farm electricity is already free.”

Asked about the 2025 PMJAY fraud in Gujarat and the measures that will be taken under his scheme in Punjab, Mann said, “We have set up a monitoring body and have been using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the health ministry. We will monitor that there are no fake bills, fake surgeries…”

Mann also claimed that his state had now emerged out of the “Udta Punjab” phase, referring to the problem of drug addiction among youths. “In Punjab, we initiated a drive against drugs, under which we seized thousands of kilograms of drugs and caught big fish involved in trafficking. We demolished their properties and assets in the state,” he said.

He alleged that the Punjab Police have visited Gujarat several times to seize drugs from ports and found narcotics worth Rs 20,000 crore being trafficked. “We work with the Gujarat Police to seize drugs,” he claimed.