Chirag re-elected LJP (Ram Vilas) chief, pitches for caste census
Ranchi (PTI): Union minister Chirag Paswan was on Sunday re-elected as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president for five years at its national executive meeting here.
The decision was taken unanimously at the meeting, Paswan said.
"The national executive, in its meeting here, has re-elected me for the next five years," he said.
Paswan, the Minister of Food Processing Industries, said the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Jammu Kashmir and Jharkhand were also discussed in the meeting.
In Jharkhand, the party may contest the polls either with national alliance partner BJP or on its own, he said.
"We have taken suggestions from the state units whether they want to contest the elections in alliance or alone in states where our organisation is strong... At the national level, we have an alliance with the BJP and we are a strong coalition partner of the NDA.
“In the 2014 elections, we had a tie-up with the BJP for vidhansabha polls in Jharkhand and contested the Shikaripara seat. If there is a respectable seat-sharing, we may go with an alliance or else we can go alone in the polls," Paswan said.
He also said “discontent was brewing among people” in Jharkhand against the Hemant Soren government, and that the NDA is certain to bounce back to power in the state.
Assembly polls are due in Jharkhand later this year.
Paswan pitched for a nationwide caste census, but cautioned against making the figures public as it will create a "rift" in society.
"We have always emphasised that we want the caste census to be conducted... It will ensure that the government has correct numbers. However, I do not want the figures of the census to come out in public. That may create a rift," said the minister, whose late father Ram Vilas Paswan was among the tallest Dalit leaders of the country.
He also said a special resolution was passed at the national executive meeting to extend a motion of thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his welfare initiatives and work towards the SC-ST community.
Commenting on the creamy layer in SC community, he said: "We have been opposed to it since they are not just victims of social and educational backwardness, but even untouchability".
Paswan said even after so many years of Independence, Dalit grooms are prevented from riding a horse during weddings, and "I even learnt about an IPS officer seeking security for his marriage".
"Even today, we hear that members of the Dalit community cannot enter temples... The observation of the Supreme Court did not have any mention of untouchability. The PM has also said that as per constitutional norms, the provisions for SCs would continue," he said.
Earlier this month, a seven-judge bench of the apex court led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud ruled in a 6:1 majority judgement that state governments were permitted to sub-classify communities within the SC list based on empirical data.
Supreme Court judge Justice B R Gavai had said that states must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even among the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) and deny them the benefit of reservation.
On the issue of lateral entry into bureaucracy, Paswan said the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has reaffirmed its "commitment towards SCs, STs and OBCs" by asking the UPSC to withdraw the advertisement for lateral entry “after we raised concerns over it”.
Asked about the Waqf bill issue, he said the bill on amendments in the Waqf board has been sent to Parliament's Joint Committee, which will enable all the stakeholders to raise their concerns.
Attacking the Congress for its alliance with the National Conference for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, Paswan said it should clear the stance on the scrapping of Article 370, which the NC wants to restore.
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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.
