New Delhi: Amid the coming together of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress as part of the grand Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao after a visit to a Delhi Mohalla clinic on Friday said they are “not what they are made out to be”, reported news agency ANI.
Speaking to the media after visiting one of the health centres, the Karnataka minister said, “It is not that impressive. We have such models in our state as well. There were not many people. It is not a game-changer. I am not saying it is bad, but it is not like the way it is made out to be...There are many models in the south - Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. We run from primary to super-speciality hospitals...So, it's not a game-changer-like thing that I noticed.”
Speaking on his visit, the minister added, “I wanted to visit Mohalla Clinic myself to see how it is working...In Karnataka also, we have Namma clinic similar to this (Mohalla Clinic) which has been recently started. So, we can make changes to them after examining the model here that's why I came here.”
Rao’s remarks came hours after he visited an 'Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic' at Panchsheel Park in Delhi. He was accompanied by Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and Karnataka Bhavan medical officer Karthik, PTI reported.
Taking to Twitter, Rao wrote, “Visited a mohalla clinic in Delhi with hardly any people there. Our clinics in Karnataka have more facilities, including a laboratory, to do immediate tests for patients. I guess it is overhyped and I came back feeling disappointed.”
Elaborating on his visit, Rao said it was a "department" matter and not a "political" one.
"Alliance is a different issue and a political one. We will go to other states. Rajasthan has a health policy. It can be a BJP state also (where we can visit). That is the concept of federalism," PTI quoted the minister as saying.