Chennai: Top Tamil actor Vijay, leader of the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam party, unveiled his political party’s flag on Thursday. The event took place at the party office in Chennai, where Vijay, along with party workers and leaders, took a pledge to uphold the principles of equality and strive for equal rights for all.

In his pledge, Vijay emphasized the importance of eliminating differences based on caste, religion, gender, and place of birth. He affirmed his commitment to creating awareness among the people and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. "We will always appreciate the fighters who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of our country and the countless soldiers who fought tirelessly for the rights of our people from Tamil soil," Vijay stated.

The actor had previously announced the launch of Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam in February this year and confirmed his intention to contest the 2026 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Notably, his party chose not to align with any political bloc in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, where the DMK-led alliance secured a sweeping victory in the state.

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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.