Siddaramaiah attacks BS Yediyurappa over bank exam language row, calls Karnataka CM a "mouse"
Bengaluru, July 13: Accusing the Centre of betraying Kannadigas by not allowing candidates to take the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection exams in Kannada, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday called Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa a "mouse" for not standing up to the Centre on it.
In a series of tweets with "#IBPSMosa" (#IBPSCheating) he hit out at the ruling BJP at the centre and the state on the issue and demanded the resignations of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member from the state, and also Yediyurappa if they cannot ensure justice to Kannadigas.
"Narendra Modi is betraying Kannadigas by not allowing candidates to take IBPS exams in Kannada.
Latest notification by IBPS is an example for BJP's anti-Kannada stand.
Central govt should immediately address this and ensure justice to Kannadigas," Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Noting that Karnataka has elected 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha, he asked "What are these MPs doing? Though slavery is abolished, BJP Karnataka MPs are behaving like slaves of Narendra Modi. Shame on them!!"
"Yediyurappa's followers call him Huli (Tiger) but in reality he is ili (Mouse).
He hides in burrows when he has to stand up in front of Narendra Modi. Let him resign if he cannot ensure justice to Kannadigas," he added.
Pointing out that IBPS had called for applications to fill more than 3,000 vacant clerical positions in 11 nationalised banks, of which 407 posts are in Karnataka, the former Chief Minister said injustice to Kannada will result in huge unemployment by leaving out Kannadigas in the competition.
"Candidates were able to write IBPS exams in regional languages before 2014. After BJP came to power, rules were changed to allow English and Hindi only.
We had even written a letter to Narendra Modi to protest against this," he said.
Further, noting that most of the schemes of the Central and State governments are implemented through banks, on which farmers, labourers, women and many others are dependent, he said rural people are facing harassment from staff who don't know Kannada.
"Being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, Nirmala Sitharaman has constantly betrayed Kannadigas and Kannada.
She has continued the same with respect to IBPS exams.
She is unfit to represent people of Karnataka in Rajya Sabha.
She should resign if she has any shame," he said.
.@BSYBJP's followers call him Huli (Tiger) but in reality he is ili (Mouse). He hides in burrows when he has to stand up in front of @narendramodi.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 13, 2021
Let him resign if he cannot ensure justice to Kannadigas.#IBPSMosa
.@narendramodi is betraying Kannadigas by not allowing candidates to take IBPS exams in Kannada. Latest notification by IBPS is an example for @BJP4India's anti-Kannada stand.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 13, 2021
Central govt should immediately address this & ensure justice to Kannadigas.#IBPSMosa pic.twitter.com/5RkTmXZFrN
Being elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, @nsitharaman has constantly betrayed Kannadigas and Kannada.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 13, 2021
She has continued the same with respect to IBPS exams. She is unfit to represent people of Karnataka in Rajya Sabha. She should resign if she has any shame.#IBPSExam
Karnataka has elected 25 MPs to Lok Sabha. What are these MPs doing?
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 13, 2021
Though slavery is abolished, @BJP4Karnataka MPs are behaving like slaves of @narendramodi.
Shame on them!!#IBPSMosa
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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.
