"Confident of getting justice", says CM Siddaramaiah a day after HC reserves its verdict on his plea
Bengaluru, Sep 13: A day after Karnataka High Court completed hearing and reserved its verdict on his petition challenging legality of Governor's approval for investigation against him in a site allotment case, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said he is confident of getting justice, as he has committed no wrong.
Terming as "false" the allegations against him -- illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife in a layout by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) --, he asserted that he will do no wrong in the future too, and that his life was an open book.
"...let them (the opposition) lie, we won't care for it. They are making false allegations against me. I have respect for the law of this land, I have respect for the court's verdicts, I'm confident about getting justice, because I have committed no wrong," Siddaramaiah said.
Addressing an event at Magadi on the city outskirts, he said: "I have done no wrong, will not do it, and will not do it in the future too. It has been 40 years since I became Minister (for the first time), my life is an open book, I'm saying it very clearly that anyone can open and see it."
The High Court on Thursday also extended its August 19 interim order directing the special court for people's representatives that was slated to hear complaints against him in the case, to defer its proceedings till the disposal of the petition.
The Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on August 16 accorded sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions submitted to him by complainants Pradeep Kumar S P, T J Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging the legality of the Governor's order.
In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife B M Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. Some Opposition leaders and activists have also claimed that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land.
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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.
