Prakash Ambedkar-Asaduddin Owaisi to join hands for 2019 elections
Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Sep 15: Marking a new dimension in Maharashtra politics, the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will jointly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, an official said here on Saturday.
The BBM is led by Prakash Ambedkar while the Hyderabad-based AIMIM is headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, which has made inroads in the Maharashtra Assembly and several civic bodies in the state.
The BBM-AIMIM alliance will be sealed and announced in a public rally to be addressed by the two leaders in Aurangabad on October 2, an AIMIM spokesperson said.
Imtiaz Jaleel, the AIMIM legislator from the city, said here that the new alliance will fight for the rights of the Dalits, Muslims and Other Backward Classes who remain ignored since the past 70 years.
"They have no proper representation in politics, are merely treated as vote-banks during elections. It's a matter of shame for all the secular parties in the state that there is not a single Muslim person elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra," Jaleel pointed out.
He said now there is a huge awareness among Dalits, Muslims and OBCs who don't want to be treated as vote-banks anymore, but want a share in power.
"Owaisi has already requested Ambedkar to take over the leadership of this section of the population, since he's raising all the issues concerning these communities, fight the forces which are threatening to 'burn' the Constitution. This will become a major political force in the state," Jaleel added.
Earlier, Jaleel had held a preparatory discussion with Ambedkar in Pune and now the final shape of the alliance, the elections they will unitedly contest, the seat-sharing formula, etc, shall be declared next month.
Since the Koregaon-Bhima caste riots on January 1 and its political fallout, Ambedkar and the BBM have assumed a leading role in forging unity among the Dalits, and now extending to OBCs and Muslims, making it a potentially formidable force to reckon with in the next elections.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
