Ranchi: The Jharkhand government on Thursday renamed Atal Mohalla Clinics, launched by the previous BJP regime, as Mother Teresa Advance Health Clinics, an official said.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who heads a coalition government of the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance.
“The cabinet approved the proposal of changing the name of the Atal Mohalla Clinic scheme as Mother Teresa Advanced Health Clinic,” Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel said.
Former CM Raghubar Das launched the scheme in August 2019 to address the lack of quality healthcare in urban slums in the state. As many as 140 Atal Mohalla Clinics are functioning in the state, providing free and primary healthcare services.
State BJP criticised the government for the decision, terming it an insult to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the creator of the Jharkhand state. Removing his name to fulfil political motives is not just an insult to a Bharat Ratna but to the soul of Jharkhand. People of the state will not tolerate this,” BJP spokesperson Ajay Shah said.
A total of 21 decisions were taken by the cabinet, including approval to the Jharkhand State University Bill, 2025.
“Currently, there are separate acts for different universities in Jharkhand. The proposal is to bring an umbrella Act for all universities, excluding medical and agricultural universities. There is also a proposal to constitute a university service commission for recruitments,” Dadel said.
