‘Will you use your own brain too’: Tejashwi’s jibe after Nitish hikes pay of ASHA and Mamta workers

While ASHA, or Accredited Social Health Activists, are community health workers in rural India. Under the National Rural Health Mission, they are seen as bridge between the community and the public health system.

Mamata workers, on the other hand, are contractual health workers in maternity wards of government hospitals that are meant to care for newborns and their mothers. Both are crucial links in the rural healthcare chain.

ASHA workers currently get Rs 1,000 while Mamta workers Rs 300/child.

The decision comes months ahead of the assembly polls and follows a series of recent welfare measures by the Nitish cabinet, from infrastructure and employment to education and healthcare. These include the promise of one crore jobs over the next 5 years, the development of the Maa Janki temple in Sitamarhi, increasing social welfare pensions, reservation for women in state government jobs and free electricity up to 125 units.

Soon after Wednesday’s announcement, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Bihar’s former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav accused his former ally Nitish of “repackaging and claiming credit” for initiatives introduced during his tenure.

In a post on X, Yadav said: “In my 17-month tenure as Health Minister, I had initiated the process of increasing the incentive amount for ASHA and Mamta workers which had reached its final stage, but the government and the Chief Minister habitually backtracked. This incompetent NDA government then sat on it for two years. Finally… they had to bow to our demand”.

Yadav further criticised the government for what he called a partial implementation of the proposal.

“Here, the government has cleverly not implemented our demand in full. They (ASHA and Mamta workers) deserve honorarium, not just incentives. We will provide them with an honorarium,” he said.

The Nitish-led NDA government will now be compelled to increase the honorarium of Anganwadi workers, helpers, and cooks too, he said.

He then went on to say: “It feels good to see how this imitation-prone, exhausted, visionless government is now visibly rattled by our demands, promises, and intent. The same government and ministers, leaders, and officials who once mocked our announcements are now scrambling as they see power slipping from their hands. Sab kuch Tejashwi ka hi nakal karoge ya apni bhi akal lagaoge (Will you copy everything from Tejashwi, or will you use your own brain too)?”