BJP's Ladakh MP resigns from party, Lok Sabha on 'health grounds'
New Delhi : BJP MP Thupstan Chhewang, who represents Ladakh in the Lok Sabha, has resigned from the House and also the party, its Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina said Thursday.
Chhewang, 71, has resigned to pursue a "spiritual life" and had also been suffering from health issues, Raina told PTI, insisting that his resignation is on personal grounds.
The Ladakh MP in his letter written on Wednesday said he was resigning from the party's primary membership on "health grounds" with immediate effect. He was also quitting as an MP, he added.
Chhewang, who was serving his second term in the Lower House, could not be reached for comments.
Raina said the MP had been insisting for over a year that he wanted to quit politics and pursue a spiritual life. He also had health issues, the state party chief said.
In the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP had faced a drubbing in the recently-held urban local body elections.
The party lost in all 26 wards of the Leh and Kargil municipal committees in the region.
While the Congress swept the polls in Leh, winning all 13 wards, it won five municipal wards in Kargil and rest of the eight wards went to Independents.
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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.
