Instead of authoring 'fraudulent' pieces on Nehru, focus on rectifying legal system: Cong to Rijiju
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday slammed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for his fresh attack on Jawaharlal Nehru, saying that instead of wasting time authoring "fraudulent" pieces on the country's first prime minister, he should focus on rectifying a legal system that frees those convicted of murder and gang rape.
Rijiju mounted a fresh attack on Nehru on the Kashmir issue on Monday, claiming that he moved the United Nations under the wrong Article after Pakistan's invasion, thereby making it a party to the dispute instead of an aggressor.
"Instead of wasting his time 'authoring' fraudulent pieces on Nehru to please MoDistorter, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju should focus on rectifying a legal system that frees those convicted of murder and gang rape," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said making an apparent reference to the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case.
"He should be more anguished by these than defaming Nehru!" Ramesh said on Twitter.
In his comments on Twitter and in an opinion piece for the News 18 portal, Rijiju also said Nehru let the "myth" of a UN-mandated plebiscite perpetuate and created the "divisive" Article 370 of the Constitution. "Nehru rejected Maharaja Hari Singh's plea to accede to India not just once but thrice," he said.
The fresh attack on Nehru came on his birth anniversary.
Last month, Rijiju had written an article citing "five Nehruvian blunders", including floating the idea of a plebiscite and terming Jammu and Kashmir's accession provisional.
The minister had said it was important to realise past mistakes to build a new future and added he has not tweaked history but stated facts to set the record straight.
Reacting to that criticism, the Congress had demanded an apology from Rijiju over his criticism of Nehru's handling of the Kashmir issue and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in ministers from making "irresponsible statements".
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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.
