Amit Shah's firmness helped in smooth transition of power in Maha: DyCM Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah's firmness helped in the smooth transition of power in the state earlier this year as the Bharatiya Janata Party countered "betrayal by the Shiv Sena".
Fadnavis was speaking here as the chief guest at the launch of a booklet inspired by the thoughts of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shah.
In June this year, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde led a rebellion against the party leadership which resulted in the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Shinde later became the chief minister with BJP leader Fadnavis as his deputy.
Speaking at the event in Mumbai on Tuesday, Fadnavis said, "Amit Shah offered his staunch support to us when Maharashtra was going through the transition of power. His firmness helped in the smooth transition of power, as the BJP countered the Shiv Sena's betrayal."
The "original Shiv Sena" (referring to CM Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena) and the BJP could come together and form the government in Maharashtra, he said.
"Shah not only has leadership qualities but he holds the ability to deliver a decision in the right manner. Once he decides about a thing, he gets it done," Fadnavis said.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Thackeray's party had severed ties with long term ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.
Thackeray had then formed government with the support of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
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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.
