DMK sacks TN Minister Ponmudy from party post following remarks on Shaivism-Vaishnavism
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister K Ponmudy was on Friday removed from a key party post in the wake of a row over his remarks on Shaivism and Vaishnavism that drew widespread criticism, including from DMK MP Kanimozhi.
DMK President and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced that Ponmudy was being "relieved from the party's deputy general secretary post."
Stalin made the announcement in a statement, but did not attribute any reasons for the action.
The move came close on the heels of the minister's apparently distasteful remarks leading to a controversy, with the opposition BJP demanding Ponmudy's sacking from the cabinet.
A video of the minister making the purported remarks in the context of a sex worker has gone viral. There was no immediate response from Ponmudy, the state Forest minister.
"Minister Ponmudy continuing in his post is shameful.... CM Stalin, will you order Ponmudy's arrest," Narayanan Thirupathy, Vice-President of the BJP's TN unit said in a social media post.
He has maligned the women of Tamil Nadu with his comments, the BJP leader alleged.
Kanimozhi also hit out at her party colleague.
She said, "The recent speech of minister Ponmudy is not acceptable." "For whatever reason he had spoken, such vulgar words are condemnable," she said in a post on X.
Thirupathy welcomed Kanimozhi criticising Ponmudy.
Ponmudy had earlier courted controversy, linking north Indians with selling pani puri.
Taking a dig at those who insist jobs will be available for those who learn Hindi, he had wondered who were selling pani puri in the city (Coimbatore) now, an obvious reference to the predominantly Hindi-speaking vendors involved in the trade.
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.
