UPA-III will come to power after 2014 polls: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today expressed hope that the UPA-III would come to power after the 2014 elections and said the Congress-led alliance after forming government should introduce legislation to ensure access to free medical treatment for all.

"The time of UPA-II has gone. We are toiling hard towards formation of UPA-III. Inshallah, I want to say with confidence that there will be UPA-III government after (2014 Lok Sabha) elections," Omar said on the sidelines of a function here.

"UPA-II has given a lot to the people of the country, which nobody had thought of in the past. It was right to free and compulsory eduction and right to food," he said.

"But, the truth is that if we do not have health, these all are meaningless. If I do not have health, nothing is good for me," he said.

"After elections, when UPA-III will be formed, we should give a gift to the people of this country from UPA-III in the shape of 'right to health'," he said.

Stressing that health was a basic requirement, Omar said the right to medical care should be recognised as a fundamental right so that people are legally empowered to seek the best available medical treatment free of cost in government health centres and hospitals across the country.

"The UPA-II government has enacted path-breaking and historic laws for declaring Right to Food and Right to Education as basic rights for every citizen of the country," he said.

"I hope the UPA-III will enact the necessary legislation in Parliament for making free medical treatment available to all the citizens of the country as a fundamental right," he said.