Hardik Patel’s election plans jolted as HC refuses to stay his conviction in rioting case
Hardik cannot contest elections if the court doesn’t stay his conviction
Ahmedabad: In a setback to Congress and its leader Hardik Patel, the Gujrat High Court on Friday refused to stay the conviction of Hardik, chopping down his hopes of contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
Hardik was in 2018 convicted in a rioting case and the court had ordered two year imprisonment for him along with two others. The case of rioting dates back to 2015 during the Patidar protest for reservation.
Hardik filed an appeal in the high court. During the hearing, the high court had suspended the sentence of two years but didn't deal with suspending and staying the conviction.
The last date for filing nomination is April 4 in Gujarat which goes for the polls in the third phase. His lawyers said that they will be approaching the Supreme Court on Monday with an urgent plea.
He, in petition to Gujrat High Court had stated that "if the order of conviction is not stayed and suspended, then the appellant will suffer irreparable loss and he being the person of public life, social activist and leader of the community, his goal to serve the society at large by becoming Member of Parliament will ruin." It adds further that he has "all the chances to win the election and serve the society as the Member of Parliament”
The state government had strongly opposed his plea while arguing that a "lawbreaker" should not become a "lawmaker." The state government cited 17 FIRs against Hardik to prove that he has a criminal antecedent.
As per provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a person sentenced in a criminal case needs to get stay on conviction and sentence both before contesting polls.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
