Immediately abolish 1991 Places of Worship Act: BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav in RS
New Delhi, Feb 5: BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav on Monday demanded the immediate abolition of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, alleging the law impinges on the religious rights of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists provided under the Constitution.
During the Zero Hour mention in Rajya Sabha, he also claimed the law is harming communal harmony in the country.
"Places of Worship Act is completely illogical and unconstitutional. It takes away the religious rights of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains under the Constitution.
"It is also damaging communal harmony in the country. Therefore, I urge the government to immediately repeal this law in the interest of the nation," the senior BJP leader said.
The legislation prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
This law, Yadav contended, violates the principles of equality and secularism provided in the Constitution. He also pointed out that the law prohibits judicial review.
The BJP MP's demand comes in the backdrop of the ongoing legal tussle involving the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi and the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah suit in Mathura where the Hindu sides have claimed that existing mosques have been built on Hindu temples and have demanded their restoration.
"This law also stipulates an illogical cut-off date. This affects the religious rights of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Bodhs," Yadav added.
The BJP MP also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that those who remained for long in power after Independence could not understand the significance of places of worship and set a trend of being ashamed of their own culture for political reasons.
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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.
