West Bengal to mark August 16 as Ayushman Divas, replacing Khela Hobey Divas

Kolkata,UPDATED: Jul 12, 2026 23:54 IST

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said the state government will observe August 16 as Ayushman Divas to mark the Centre's public health insurance scheme, replacing the earlier TMC government's Khela Hobey Divas.

The day will also mark 100 days of the Adhikari-led BJP government in the state after it defeated Mamata Banerjee's TMC in the assembly polls.

Announcing the decision after a BJP special organisational meeting in Tamluk in Purba Medinipur district, Adhikari said, "August 16 is a black day in Kolkata's history since the Great Calcutta Killings was orchestrated under the leadership of Suhrawardy from this date. The previous TMC government observed it as 'Khela Hobey Divas'. Our government has decided that day will be observed as Ayushman Divas. The details of our programme will soon follow." He was referring to the All India Muslim League-sponsored Direct Action Day of August 16, 1946, when the party had called for 'direct action' through strikes and economic shutdowns to press its demand for Pakistan after the British exit from India.

What began as political mobilisation soon turned into one of the worst episodes of communal violence in British India, with Hindu and Muslim mobs clashing across Kolkata for several days. By the time order was restored, around 4,000 people had been killed, more than 10,000 injured and tens of thousands displaced. The violence is widely seen as a turning point that deepened communal divisions and hastened Partition the following year. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Muslim League leader, was then chief minister of undivided Bengal.

In recent years, former chief minister Mamata Banerjee had declared August 16 as Khela Hobey Divas in 2021 to mark the Trinamool Congress's assembly election victory and promote sports among young people. The observance included football matches and the distribution of sports equipment across the state, with Banerjee presenting it as an effort to encourage grassroots sporting talent and youth participation. Adhikari said details of Ayushman Divas would be announced on August 16.

He also outlined how the health cover would be rolled out. "Citizens who have crossed the age of 70 are automatically entitled to get the benefits of the scheme. And the remaining, who are eligible to receive the benefits of the scheme, will also be included in it. That will cover about 70 per cent of the beneficiaries. The remaining 30 per cent will be brought under the CM Health Insurance scheme, both of which will be introduced together," he said.

On complaints that some women had not received benefits under the Annapurna Yojna direct cash transfer scheme, which replaced the TMC government's Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, Adhikari said central schemes implemented in the state had clear rules and only eligible people would be included. "Money under Annapurna scheme has been transferred to over 1.2 crore women, which translates to an average 35,000 to 40,000 beneficiaries in each constituency. The verification process will continue till August 30 and all those who are found eligible will be included and those who are non-deserving will be dropped," he said.

Asked about the BJP's prospects in the coming Nandigram bypolls, Adhikari said both the Mamata Banerjee camp and the rebel group led by Ritabrata "are in doldrums and they will not find enough people to fight the elections". He added, "There can be no doubt about our victory in Nandigram. I won the polls there by a margin of nearly 9,700 votes, five times the margin I had secured in 2021. This time our candidate will win with a five time my victory margin in the seat." Overall, Adhikari used the announcement on August 16 to set out the BJP government's plans on Ayushman coverage, respond to questions on Annapurna Yojna and project confidence about the Nandigram bypoll.

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With PTI inputs