AAP’s clinic-branding stunt cost Punjab Rs.450 crore in NHM dues: Tarun Chugh

Chandigarh, October 7, 2025: BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said the AAP government’s decision to repaint Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centres as “Aam Aadmi Clinics” was political theatre that directly triggered a freeze of National Health Mission funds. Health money is not a billboard; poor patients should not pay for photo-ops.

Chugh said the Mann government misled people by turning a centrally sponsored primary-care network into a party campaign. When rules finally caught up, the state reversed course—removed the CM’s pictures and restored Ayushman branding—to restart releases for 2024–25. “That climbdown is an admission of guilt,” he said. “If you had followed the rulebook, Punjab wouldn’t be staring at a Rs. 450 crore hole in last year’s healthcare budget.”

He demanded two actions: first, immediate clearance of any due tranches for current services so medicines, diagnostics, and staffing don’t suffer; second, a time-bound white paper from the Punjab government detailing who authorised the non-compliant signage, which clinics stayed off-norms, and how service delivery was hit district-wise during the freeze. “Name the officials who okayed the violation and explain the damage,” Chugh said.

Chugh said Punjab’s public health system has collapsed in this Mann-Made Disaster and demanded full transparency from the state government. He said if there is nothing to hide, the Mann government must publish the complete health dashboard immediately, with district wise OPD footfall, diarrhoea and hepatitis A and E cases, dengue and leptospirosis trends, ambulance response times, medicine stocks and stock outs, lab turnaround times, coverage of outreach camps and mobile medical units, chlorine tablet distribution, vector control runs, and all deaths and referrals. People need facts, not photo-ops. Release the numbers now and show who is getting care and who is being left behind, Chugh added.

Chugh added that BJP will monitor compliance across all facilities and press for ring-fencing of NHM money from political branding. “Stop playing with people’s health. Follow the national template in full, publish the disruption data, and make sure not a single rupee meant for the poor is blocked again,” he said.