Speaker to TMC MP: Don't do marketing of West Bengal

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday asked a leader of the Trinamool Congress not to do "marketing" of West Bengal after he spoke about a health scheme of the state government in the House.

During the Question Hour, Trinamool Congress leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay highlighted a health scheme being implemented by the Mamata Banerjee government, which he claimed was better than the Ayushman Bharat scheme of the Modi government.

At this, the Speaker remarked: "Don't do marketing of West Bengal".

However, Bandyopadhyay kept talking about the West Bengal scheme.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan countered Bandyopadhyay, saying schemes individually implemented by a few states like West Bengal have several limitations, including lack of portability.

Vardhan said he was hopeful that governments of Delhi, Telangana and Odisha, which have not joined the Ayushman Bharat scheme yet, will do it soon.