Amit Shah says no promise on CM post; Shiv Sena asks why mum for so long
Kankavli (Maha), Feb 7: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said he did not promise Shiv Sena - then BJP's partner - to share the chief minister's post if the alliance retained power in Maharashtra after the 2019 Assembly polls.
Shiv Sena, which ditched the BJP soon after the polls to form the government with the NCP and Congress, shot back, wondering what took the senior BJP leader over a year to come out with his version on the much-discussed topic in the state politics.
"I don't make promises in closed rooms. Whatever I do, I do it openly. I don't do politics in closed rooms," Shah said, after inaugurating a private medical college at Kankavli in Sindhudurg district.
He said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress is like an auto-rickshaw whose three wheels were pulling in different directions.
"This (MVA) is an unholy alliance and an outcome of betraying the people's mandate which was for a BJP-Shiv Sena government led by (BJP's) Devendra Fadnavis," Shah said, adding the MVA alliance is a result of the lust for power.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP after the 2019 Assembly polls in over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post with the BJP, and later forged an alliance with the NCP and Congress to come to power.
Thackeray had claimed that Shah, who was then BJP president, had assured at his 'Matoshree' bungalow in Mumbai that the CM's post would be shared by the two parties, and the BJP reneged on the promise.
It is being claimed that the BJP broke the promise, Shah said, adding his party honours the promises it makes.
"We don't speak white lies. We are the ones who honour commitments. In Bihar, we had said that even if the BJP gets more seats, Nitish Kumar will continue to be the CM," Shah said.
Slamming Thackeray, Shah said the Shiv Sena leader addressed poll rallies with him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
In the poll posters of Shiv Sena candidates, Modi's pictures were bigger than Thackeray's, Shah said. "We sought votes for the BJP-Sena alliance led by Fadnavis. Why didn't you speak out then? You just garnered votes in Modi's name," Shah said.
Reacting to his remarks, Sena leader and former Union minister Arvind Sawant said the fact that Shah took a year and half to claim that he had not made any promise (to Thackeray) on sharing chief ministers post raises suspicions.
"Uddhv Thackeray spoke about this (promise) on many occasions - even in the state legislature - but Shah had remained silent. After the Assembly election results, Shah went to Haryana for government formation talks but remained silent on Maharashtra's political developments," the Sena leader said.
The Thackeray family is known in Maharashtra for honouring promises made, he said.
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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.
