Smriti Irani files papers from Amethi, takes on Rahul Gandhi
Amethi: Union minister Smriti Irani Thursday filed her nomination papers from Amethi, pitting herself against Congress president Rahul Gandhi who has won thrice from the Lok Sabha constituency regarded as Gandhi family pocket borough.
Irani filed her papers after a road show, which followed a similar route taken by the one organised by the Congress when Rahul Gandhi filed his own nomination papers here on Wednesday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accompanied her in the show of strength in a constituency nursed by the Union textiles minister even after being defeated by Rahul Gandhi in 2014, the first time the BJP nominated her as its candidate from Amethi.
Irani, who has been lashing out at Gandhi for missing from Amethi and over the lack of development in the constituency, continued her attack Thursday.
She questioned his silence over the Income Tax raids against close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
"What type of politics is the Congress practising when its leaders commit the sin of looting money meant for the welfare of pregnant women and poor children?" she said.
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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.
