Be cautious while welcoming people into party, says Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Jun 25: Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Friday asked his partymen to be cautious while welcoming people from other parties, saying the new entrants should not "spoil the party" by indulging in groupism.
The statement seems aimed at Chamarajpet legislator B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is at the forefront of the faction in the party, projecting Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah as the Chief Ministerial face for the 2023 assembly polls, which has irked Shivakumar, who is also nursing similar ambitions.
Khan, who was earlier with JD(S) and once considered the trusted lieutenant of its leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, joined Congress with seven others from the regional party in 2018 and has since been a Siddaramaiah loyalist.
"Both from JD(S) and BJP, some workers are desiring a good change in the state.
There are people who are educated and have put in struggle, who want to join our party, accepting our ideology and respecting the leadership of Sonia Gandhi (Congress President). Send a proposal with the list of such people," Shivakumar told party workers.
"If you feel that the party will benefit from such people wanting to join the Congress, induct them...but they should not come and indulge in groupism.
Don't induct people who come from other parties, indulge in groupism and try to spoil our party.
Induct those who are ready to leave 'personality worship' behind and do only 'party worship'," he added.
The issue of CM face for the assembly polls has widened fissures within the party and also triggered a game of one- upmanship between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
Khan's repeated statements projecting Siddaramaiah paved the way for other loyalists of the former Chief Minister to make similar open statements, despite diktats from AICC General Secretary in-charge of the State, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Shivakumar against it.
Following Shivakumar's statement asking Siddaramaiah to rein in MLAs projecting him as next CM, the latter on Thursday asked legislators not to make such statements and said the high command would take a decision on the matter at an appropriate time.
Siddaramaiah himself had joined the Congress with his followers in 2006 after he was expelled from the JD(S).
Further, indicating that leaders from other parties, especially from BJP, are in touch with him, Shivakumar said, "I don't want to divulge as to how many are in touch with me.
BJP legislators and Ministers are aware that their party will not come to power once again, for any reason.
In such a situation we have to utilise the opportunity, organise our party and bring our party to power."
He said the party would replace people not actively involved in organisational work and that efforts were on to make Congress a cadre based party.
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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.
