Maharashtra BJP stages protest against Rahul Gandhi over quota remarks; Cong calls it drama
Mumbai (PTI): Workers and leaders of Maharashtra BJP on Friday held state-wide protests against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on reservation during his visit to the US.
While Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said it was necessary to stage a protest to tell people about Gandhi's mentality against reservation, Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat accused the saffron party of spreading fake news and doing "nautanki" (drama).
Gandhi, who is in the US, told students of Georgetown University that the Congress would think of scrapping reservations when “India is a fair place”, which he said is not the case right now.
During a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, the Leader of Opposition alleged that democracy in India for the last 10 years was broken, but now it is fighting back.
The BJP announced a state-wide protest over Gandhi's "anti-reservation" remarks.
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra Housing Minister Atul Save staged a demonstration with party workers, carrying placards and raising slogans against Gandhi.
During the protest in Mumbai, BJP's Dahisar MLA Manisha Chowdhary claimed the Congress has been opposing reservations from the days of late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi's "anti-reservation" stand is exposed, she said.
Slamming the BJP for staging protests, Thorat accused the party of spreading fake news and doing "nautanki" (drama).
He further pointed out that Gandhi, in his remarks, never said reservations would be done away with.
"What are BJP leaders protesting for? They don't even feel the need to verify information. But people will not be swayed by their fake narrative. People know that it is the BJP that is anti-Constitution and anti-reservation," Thorat wrote in a post on X.
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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.
