Stop creating narrative to divide country into north, south: PM Modi to Congress
New Delhi, Feb 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the Congress and its government in Karnataka to stop creating a narrative to divide the country into north and south saying it jeopardises the country's future.
Replying to the debate to the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha, he lamented that the Karnataka government was building such a narrative through advertisements.
Modi was referring to the protest dharna by the Congress led by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over alleged "injustice" meted out by the Centre on devolution of tax share to the state.
"Today I want to share my pain on a specific matter...The way language is being spoken these days to break the country, these new narratives are being made for political gains. An entire state is speaking this language, nothing can be worse for the country than this...what language have we started saying," he said.
Modi said such narratives were not good for the country and could jeopardise its future.
He lamented that a vaccine is made in one part of the country and someone says that it can't be given to other parts. "What is this thinking? And it is very painful that such language is emerging from a national party, it is very sad," he noted.
"This nation is not just a piece of land for us. It is like the human body, if there is pain somewhere, the hand doesn't say that the thorn is in the foot and it doesn't concern me...if there is pain anywhere in this country, pain should be felt by everyone.
"If one body part does not work the entire body is dubbed as handicap, If any part of the country is left without development, then the country cannot become developed. Therefore we should look at the country as one and not separate parts," Modi said.
He cited the example of the Himalayas, saying what if one starts saying that rivers flow from there and they won't be shared with others.
"What will happen to the country, where will this stop? States which have coal if they say that we won't share it with others, how will the country function?"
"If eastern states had said that we won't share oxygen with other regions what would have happened."
"'Desh ke andar yeh bhav todne ka kya prayas ho raha hai?' (What is this narrative being played to break the nation). 'Hamara tax hamara money', (Our tax, our money) what is this language being spoken?"
"Stop giving such new narratives to break the nation. It poses a threat to the future of the country. Make efforts to take the country along," the prime minister noted.
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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.
