Congress fighting political challenges, Bharat Jodo Yatra has brought unity in party: Jairam Ramesh
Hingoli/Washim (PTI): The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra has brought unity in the Congress in the last 70 days as the party has been fighting political challenges, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday.
The foot march, a mass contact initiative of the Congress, entered its 69th day on Tuesday and reached Washim district in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra from Hingoli.
Addressing a press conference in Washim, Ramesh said Gandhi will also address a public meeting of tribals on the occasion of the birth anniversary of iconic tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
Targeting the Centre, Ramesh claimed the Forest Rights Act and the Land Acquisition Act 2013 have been weakened and this is specially harmful for tribals.
The legislations were brought during the rule of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Ramesh alleged that the Narendra Modi government's policy was to forcefully take the land of farmers and give it to the big companies.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra has nothing to do with the vote bank. It's purpose is above politics, the Congress leader said.
"It is the yatra of a political party and we are fighting political challenges," he said.
"One thing is clearly seen that the way our party has united in the last 70 days...the way we have started working on time. There is an Indian Standard Time and there is a Congress Standard Time," he added.
On Tuesday morning, Gandhi started the foot march from Phalegaon in Hingoli district. Ramesh, former Maharashtra minister Yashomati Thakur and other party leaders walked along with Gandhi.
Ramesh remembered tribal leader Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary on Tuesday.
He posted a tweet saying, "Today is the 69th day of #BharatJodoYatra and the 147th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, born just 15 days later than Sardar Patel. But tragically, he died in a British jail in Ranchi at the very young age of 25."
"An adivasi (not vanvasi as the RSS calls tribals), Birsa Munda should be an inspiration to ALL Indians. The causes for which he laid down his life, particularly tribal land rights are still most relevant today," Ramesh added.
The government had last year declared November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas' on the birth anniversary of Munda to remember the contribution of tribal freedom fighters.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, has so far covered 28 districts in six states.
It entered Deglur in Maharashtra on November 7 and has till now covered Nanded and Hingoli districts in the state.
The yatra will cover a distance of 382 km across five districts of Maharashtra before entering Madhya Pradesh on November 20.
It will pass through 12 states before culminating in Jammu and Kashmir in January after covering a distance of 3,570 km over nearly 150 days.
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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.
