NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Monday listing benefits of the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme during a rally in Gujarat's Jamnagar and got 'Kochi' in Kerala and 'Karachi' in Pakistan mixed up in a slip of the tongue. Modi, however, was quick to cover it up by saying that his mind these days is preoccupied with the neighbouring country.

Extolling the virtues of the Ayushman Bharat health scheme, Modi said it allowed a resident of Jamnagar to avail treatment anywhere in the country, be it 'Kolkata' or 'Karachi'. Almost in the same breath, Modi set things right by telling the gathering he meant 'Kochi' and not 'Karachi'.

"Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, if a resident of Jamangar has gone to Bhopal and falls sick, he need not come back to Jamnagar for treatment. If he shows his (Ayushman Bharat) beneficiary card, he will get free treatment even in Kolkata and even in Karachi," Modi told a gathering here.

He, however, added, "Not Karachi but Kochi. Nowadays my mind is preoccupied with the thoughts of the neighbouring country."

"But that (air strike in Pakistan) was also necessary. Should that be done or not?" he posed to the crowd which replied its assent with a round of applause.

Modi is on a two-day visit to his home state. He was addressing the rally after inaugurating a 750-bed annexe and PG hostel of the Guru Gobind Singh Hospital here.

He also laid the foundation stones of various development projects in the Saurashtra region. The prime minister will reach Ahmedabad later in the day to inaugurate the first phase of the six-km-long Metro rail service. He will also lay the foundation stone of the Patidar community's Umiya Mata Temple Complex in the city.