BJP protests closure of Jan Aushadhi Kendras at government hospitals in Karnataka

BJP activists claim that not all medicines are available in government hospitals. Hence, Jan Aushadhi Kendras which provide generic drugs at lower rates, helped the poor save money.

The city unit of BJP staged a protest in front of the K.R. Hospital in Mysuru on May 30 condemning the decision of the government of Karnataka to close Jan Aushadhi Kendras operating within State-run hospitals.

The government’s move will result in closure of 207 such centres in Karnataka while permission has been denied for 31 applications following the decision to shut them down. The protest was led by city BJP unit president L. Nagendra who alleged that the government had succumbed to pressure from the ’pharmaceutical mafia’.

He said the government’s decision was anti-poor and would undermine efforts to provide medicines at an affordable rate. The decision was not only politically motivated but was an attack on the public health service that was a beacon of hope for the poor and the middle class, said Mr. Nagendra.

BJP activists held placards and raised slogans against the government stating that Jan Aushadhi Kendras were a boon to patients and shutting them down amounted to politics of vengeance by the Congress against the Modi government.

The government has justified its decision stating that patients will be provided medicines free of cost while there were complaints from patients that they were given prescriptions to buy medicines from outside, and was not aligned to the policy of free distribution of medicines.  

The decision applies only to Jan Aushadhi Kendras established within government hospital premises, and not outside.

On the government’s claim that there is no need for subsidised medicines through Jan Aushadhi Kendras as hospitals were already providing free medicines, the BJP activists pointed out that not all medicines are available in government hospitals. Hence, Jan Aushadhi Kendras which provide generic drugs at lower rates, helped the poor save money. But with the closure of Jan Aushadhi Kendras, patients will have to procure them from private pharmacists at regular rates, which will affect the poor monetarily, claimed the BJP activists who wanted the government to withdraw its order to shut down Jan Aushadhi Kendras in State-run hospitals.