Is it fair that while the ordinary residents of the State are allowed free medical treatment up to Rs 4.5 lakh under the Deen Dayal Swasthya Sewa Yojana (DDSSY) insurance scheme, that the MLAs get unlimited medical reimbursement? There has to be a ceiling on this reimbursement, or as has been done in Karnataka the MLAs have to be asked to get themselves treated in government hospitals with the clear instructions that bills from private hospitals will not be reimbursed. Karnataka has done this to cut down on the increasing medical bills of elected politicians. This indicates that the phenomenon high medical bill expenses of politicians is not restricted merely to Goa, but happens across the country.
When Herald sought to know whether there is any upper limit on the medical reimbursement for MLAs, as in the case with the common man, who gets up to Rs 4.5 lakh under DDSSY, a Legislature Department official admitted that there was no such limit. This, on the face of it is discriminatory and shows that VIP culture does exist in the State. Does the elected politician need such special medical coverage that the common man does not get? It is perhaps time that a ceiling on reimbursement of medical bills by MLAs be placed.
The other aspect here is the use of government medical facilities. Those available in Goa are touted to be of quite a superior quality. There is also a new District Hospital coming up at Margao that is scheduled to be opened in a few months to replace Hospicio. If the tertiary government hospital that we have – the Goa Medical College and Hospital – has some of the best doctors, as stated by various ministers who have held the health portfolio, why can’t the political class be treated at this hospital? The GMC has been given new wings, super specialty services; it can definitely treat most of the ailments.
The country as a whole needs to relook at the VIP culture that prevails. In one of his monthly radio broadcasts – Mann Ki Baat – Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that instead of ‘VIP’ there has to be ‘EIP’ where ‘every person is important’. When India truly takes steps towards making this possible, will this VIP culture that exists be broken?
Moves have been made towards achieving this, but they haven’t been effective. The red beacon atop the vehicles of the ministers has been taken away from them, but that was just a status symbol that didn’t cost the exchequer. There are various other benefits the ministers and MLAs receive, including loans that the legislators can avail of at reduced interest rates of 2 per cent for housing and for vehicle purchases. For the same loans, the common man has to pay five to six times more in terms of interest. Does the political class deserve all these extras at the cost of the taxpayer, especially at a time when the State’s finances are being kept out of the red only through the sale of bonds?
Setting aside what has happened, it is what can be changed in the future that needs to be looked at. Should public money be used to keep the VIP culture alive or should this practice be stopped? The common man will gladly endorse the latter. Posts on the social media after Herald’s report on the medical bills of MLAs are quite clear that this special favouritism to the political class has to stop. The change, however, can happen only if the current VIPs formulate rules to reduce the perks they are entitled to. The government has to look at its financial stability first and then decide how far it can pay for the benefits that the VIPs get.
