BJP would scrap Article 370 after forming next govt: Amit Shah
Kailimpong: Hitting out at opposition leaders for being "unhappy" with air strikes on terror camps, BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday said his party would remove Article 370 from Kashmir "after forming the next BJP government" at the Centre.
Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for questioning the Balakot air strikes in a bid to "appease" the minority vote bank, Shah asked her to come clean on whether she, too, wants a separate PM for Kashmir, just like her ally and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
"Mamata Banerjee and opposition leaders are unhappy with the air strikes. They are questioning it just to appease their minority vote bank. But, I want to say it loud and clear that we won't allow such forces to win.
"We would remove Article 370 from Kashmir after forming the next BJP government at the Centre," he said, while campaigning for Darjeeling Lok Sabha candidate Raju Singh Bisht.
Article 370 of the Constitution grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah also slammed Banerjee for trying to mislead the masses on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
The BJP government would bring NRC across the country and grant citizenship to "each and every Hindu refugee" of the country, he asserted.
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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.
