Thakor Sena asks Alpesh Thakor to resign from Congress
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena, an outfit floated by Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, has decided to severe its ties with the grand old party and asked the legislator to resign from it and clear his stand within 24 hours.
Speculations were rife that Thakor may quit the Congress as he was unhappy with the local party leadership.
Though he was keen to contest from Patan Lok Sabha seat, the Congress chose former MP Jagdish Thakor over him.
The party also ignored Thakor Sena's demand for ticket to a member of the outfit from Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat.
"The Thakor Sena, during the core committee meeting here late Tuesday night, passed a resolution to severe ties with the Congress. We have not consulted Alpesh Thakor before taking this decision," Jagat Thakor, a member of the outfit, told reporters here.
"After the meet, we told him to make his stand clear within 24 hours. If he wants to remain with the Congress, then he has to leave the Thakor Sena. And if he wants to be with us, then he has to resign from the party and as an MLA," he said.
The Congress was "ignoring" the Thakor Sena while taking important decisions, including selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, he said.
Though Alpesh Thakor heads the outfit, he was not present in the meeting.
After emerging as a prominent OBC leader in Gujarat, he joined the Congress before the 2017 Assembly polls and won from Radhanpur seat in Patan district.
He recently met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and conveyed his displeasure against the functioning of the party's state leadership.
The OBC leader claimed his community and supporters were feeling "cheated" and "ignored".
He also said that some "weak leaders" were at the helm of party affairs in Gujarat, an apparent reference to state party president Amit Chavda.
The MLA could not be contacted for his comments in the matter.
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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.
