BJP moves EC for action against Rahul for making 'baseless' allegations against Modi
New Delhi: The BJP Friday moved the Election Commission seeking action against Rahul Gandhi for his "abusive" and "completely untrue" comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the Congress president of attributing words to the Supreme Court in the Rafale case that it never said.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman also expressed her party's "disappointment" with the poll watchdog, saying it has looked the other way despite their repeated pleas to it against Gandhi for his "baseless" allegations against Modi.
A BJP delegation, including Sitharaman, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and its media head Anil Baluni, submitted to the EC a memorandum in which the saffron party also accused the Trinamool Congress of poll rigging in West Bengal during the first phase polling of the general election on Thursday.
Pointing to Gandhi's remarks Wednesday that the apex court has acknowledged that Modi is a "thief" and that he gave Rs 30,000 crore to industrialist Anil Ambani, Naqvi said such "lies" and "baseless allegations" are not only violative of the Model Code of Conduct but also fall under "corrupt practices", as described in the Representation of People Act.
The court had never said such a thing, he said.
"Congress president Rahul Gandhi is using abusive and such strong statements which are totally untrue, calling repeatedly the prime minister a 'chor' (thief) and also putting words in the mouth of Supreme Court," Sitharaman told reporters.
Gandhi has been making such allegations without any evidence, she said, adding that the BJP has approached the EC three times so far against the Congress president.
The BJP felt "let down" that the EC has not taken cognizance of its complaints against him, she said.
Taking a dig at Gandhi, Naqvi said the "brand new president" of an old party like the Congress has crossed all boundaries with his utterances.
The apex court had on Wednesday allowed leaked documents to be relied upon by petitioners seeking review of its Rafale judgement and dismissed the government's preliminary objections claiming "privilege" over them.
Gandhi had then claimed that the court has accepted that Modi was a thief.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
