Wayanad: On the second day of his visit to the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi MP said that if Congress returns to power in the nation, will revamp the health sector ensuring affordable treatment to the poor. He was inaugurating the modern treatment facilities at a private hospital in Sulthan Bathery here on Thursday. The Congress leader said that the biggest victims of medical tragedies are often poor people and stressed the need for a re-evaluation of healthcare at the national level.

"I travel around India quite a lot and I notice that the biggest victims of medical tragedies are poor people. Because if you have money you can always get treatment in a good hospital," the Wayanad MP said. 

Examining the expensive medical care, he said having financial means allows access to quality treatment in big hospitals, but for those lacking resources, facing illnesses like cancer or heart disease can essentially bring their lives to a halt. 

"If you have money, you can always get treatment in a good hospital, you can always go to a fancy hospital and get treatment but if you are poor and you get cancer or a relative gets cancer or you get heart disease or your relative gets heart disease, then your life is over," the former Congress chief said.

He said that the union government should prioritise providing affordable healthcare to the poor as a fundamental guarantee to its people. "I think at the national level we need to rethink the way we think about healthcare and I think one of the guarantees that the national government should think about giving its people is healthcare at really low cost, especially to the poor people. "

Hailing Rajasthan's public health care system, Rahul said that the Congress government there has restructured the health sector to make it poor-friendly on a trial basis.

"We have done some work on this in Rajasthan and hopefully, if we come to power in 2024, we will try and implement these types of ideas across the nation," Gandhi said. He also expressed concern about the increasing trend of hospitals operating solely as profit-driven entities, saying that such a direction is detrimental to the well-being of the nation.

The Congress party has hailed its Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme in Rajasthan as a "model" for the entire country, asserting that increasing the medical coverage to Rs 50 lakh would provide significant relief to both the poor and the middle class.

Talking about his intimacy with the people of Wayanad, the MP said that it is just a homecoming for him. 

On a busy schedule in the district, Rahul has to attend three more functions on Thursday before leaving for Kannur in the evening.

On Thursday morning, Rahul Gandhi met representatives of Wayanad Chamber of Commerce and assured them of taking all needy steps to facilitate the Nilambur-Nanjangud rail link and also measures to lift the night traffic ban through the NH 766 ensuring the support of the Congress-led Karnataka government. 

Amid his hectic schedule, Rahul Gandhi has found enough time to interact with students at the venue of Wayanad District Revenue School Youth Festival held at Sarwajana Higher Secondary School, Sulthan Bathery. 

(with PTI inputs)