Tamilisai Soundararajan, the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu, on Monday claimed she had nominated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize because he has launched the “world’s largest health scheme”, PTI reported on Monday.
According to the Nobel Foundation, members of national governments, university professors, doctors, foreign policy institutes and former Nobel winners are among the people who can nominate a person. But, it will not reveal the names of the nominees and other information about the nominations for 50 years.
She was referring to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, which was launched on Sunday. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, under the larger Ayushman Bharat programme, is a health insurance scheme that assures a cover of Rs 5 lakh per year to India’s poorest families. It plans to cover more than 1,300 medical treatments and procedures. The government claims it is the “world’s largest government funded healthcare programme”.
The Tamil Nadu BJP chief claimed her husband, Dr P Soundararajan, head of the department and senior consultant in nephrology at a private university, has also nominated Modi.
The “path-breaking initiative of the visionary prime minister will transform the lives of millions of people, especially the underprivileged and vulnerable”, a press release from Soundararajan’s office said. “The last date for Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize 2019 is January 31, 2019. The nomination processes start in September each year. University Professors and Members of Parliament among others can also nominate our Prime Minister.”
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