Upset leader quits BJP, hands resignation letter to office ‘Chowkidar’
LUCKNOW: A BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh, not chosen as a candidate for next month's national election, handed over his resignation to the guard, or chowkidar, of the BJP office in Lucknow. The gesture is loaded, at the height of the BJP's "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign.
Anshul Verma, 44, won the 2014 election from the Hardoi seat, around 100 km from state capital Lucknow, despite carrying the inconvenient tag of an "outsider".
This time, the BJP refused to name him for the seat, instead choosing Jai Prakash Rawat. Anshul Verma has now joined the Samajwadi Party.
Jai Prakash Rawat was a BJP parliamentarian twice from this seat in the 1990s. Then he joined the Samajwadi Party and won from a different seat in 2004. He returned to the BJP in 2018.
Sources in the BJP say Anshul Verma was seen to be inaccessible to party workers and the people of his constituency.
The former BJP leader denies this. "Vikaas Kiya hai vikaas karenge. Anshul they Anshul hi rahenge ...chowkidaar na kahenge (I worked for development. I will remain Anshul, I won't call myself chowkidaar)," Mr Verma told reporters in a reference to the chowkidar campaign for which BJP leaders changed their Twitter accounts to add the prefix Chowkidar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to do so; the campaign is meant to strike back at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress over their campaign alleging corruption in the Rafale jet deal with the slogan "Chowkidar Chor Hai (the guard is a thief)".
BJP's Hardoi MP Anshul Verma handed his resignation to Chowkidaar at BJP office. He is confused after so much Chowkidaars in BJP but he chooses Asli Chowkidaar... pic.twitter.com/z35nM2BSOc
— Prashant Kanojia (@PJkanojia) March 27, 2019
Mr Verma asked the media to film him as he wrote out his resignation letter to BJP chief Amit Shah.
"It was because of me that the party won from Hardoi in 2014, after a long gap of 21 years," Mr Verma wrote in his resignation letter.
"Today it seems the most responsible person is the chowkidar. So I thought, why not hand over the resignation letter to a real chowkidar instead of giving it to those who pretend to be so," Mr Verma said.
The Samajwadi Party has already announced a heavyweight candidate from Hardoi but may be willing the accommodate Mr Verma elsewhere.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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Centre launches national childhood diabetes screening, treatment framework
New Delhi (PTI): The Union Health Ministry on Sunday released a guidance document providing a framework for screening, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of childhood diabetes.
According to the ministry, the document, for the first time, establishes a structured and standardised national framework, positioning India among a select group of countries that have integrated childhood diabetes care into the public health system.
The "Guidance Document on Diabetes Mellitus in Children" was released at the National Summit on Best Practices in Public Healthcare Service Delivery, concluded on May 1-2.
According to a statement by the ministry, the framework aims to ensure universal screening of all children from birth to 18 years through community and school-based platforms for early identification of diabetes.
Suspected cases will undergo immediate blood glucose testing and be referred to district-level health facilities for confirmatory diagnosis and treatment, it said.
A key feature of the initiative is the provision of a comprehensive free-of-cost care package at public health facilities, including screening, diagnostic services, lifelong insulin therapy, glucometers, test strips and regular follow-up care.
The initiative seeks to reduce the financial burden on families and ensure uninterrupted treatment for children diagnosed with diabetes.
The document also lays down an integrated continuum of care linking community-level screening with district hospital-based management and advanced care at medical colleges to ensure seamless follow-up and treatment.
To strengthen early detection, the guidance promotes the "4Ts" awareness framework -- Toilet, Thirsty, Tired and Thinner -- to help parents, teachers and caregivers recognise early warning signs of type 1 Diabetes.
Besides clinical protocols, the document focuses on family and caregiver empowerment through structured training on insulin administration, blood glucose monitoring, emergency response and daily disease management.
The statement stated the initiative is expected to reduce mortality through early detection, prevent complications and improve the quality of life of affected children while strengthening the public health system's capacity to manage non-communicable diseases among children.
