Sonia Gandhi files nomination for Rae Bareli LS seat
Rae Bareli: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi Thursday filed her nomination papers from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
She was accompanied by her son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her son-in-law Robert Vadra.
Before filing her nomination papers at the Collectorate here, the UPA chairperson held a roadshow and offered puja at the Congress central office here.
Congress general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh (East) Priyanka Gandhi, her children Raihan and Miray, and several party leaders attended the puja at the Congress office.
Congress workers carrying party flags and banners, gathered at the Collectorate to greet the UPA chairperson.
Sonia Gandhi (72) is seeking re-election from the seat for the fifth time in a row.
Rae Bareli, where voting will be held in the fifth-phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 6, will see a straight contest between Sonia Gandhi and Dinesh Pratap Singh, who recently joined the BJP after leaving the Congress.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have not fielded a candidate in the Congress bastion.
Sonia Gandhi had won the seat in 2004, 2006 (by-polls), 2009 and 2014.
On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers for neighbouring Amethi Lok Sabha seat. He had also held a roadshow and was accompanied by his family.
The three-term MP from Amethi will take on Union Minister and BJP nominee Smriti Irani.
Like Rae Bareli, in Amethi, too, the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh has not to fielded a candidate.
This time, the Congress president is contesting a second seat, Wayanad, in Kerala where he had filed his papers on April 4.
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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.
