Ranchi, July 24 (IANS) The Jharkhand government’s decision to rename Atal Mohalla Clinics as Mother Teresa Advanced Health Clinics has sparked a major political controversy in the state.

The move, approved in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday, was defended by the government as a step to associate health services with the values of compassion and service embodied by Mother Teresa.

However, the opposition BJP has condemned the decision, calling it politically motivated and disrespectful.

BJP state spokesperson Ajay Sah lashed out at the government, accusing it of engaging in “petty politics” and attempting to erase the legacy of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“Whenever there is a positive initiative for development in Jharkhand, the JMM government drags it into controversy,” Sah said.

“Schemes like Ayushman Bharat and Atal Mohalla Clinics are products of the BJP’s visionary approach, aimed at making healthcare accessible to the poor and underprivileged. Renaming them to suit political interests is unfortunate,” he added.

Sah further said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a Bharat Ratna awardee, was the architect of Jharkhand state, and his contributions are deeply etched in public memory. “Removing his name from a public welfare scheme is an insult to him and to the soul of Jharkhand,” he said.

The BJP leader argued that the government is free to launch new schemes with new names, but changing the names of existing and widely accepted initiatives reflects a “distorted political mindset.”

He also alleged that this was not the first instance of such actions by the Hemant Soren government.

Referring to the earlier controversy over the proposed renaming of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, Sah warned that “the people of Jharkhand will not tolerate repeated attempts to undermine national icons.”

Earlier in the day, the Jharkhand government decided to rename all Atal Mohalla Clinics operating in the state as Mother Teresa Advanced Health Clinics. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Currently, around 140 such clinics are operational across Jharkhand, primarily aimed at delivering basic healthcare services to the urban and rural poor at the local level.

–IANS

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