Merely crying out "Bharat Mata ki Jai" not patriotism: Venkaiah Naidu
Mumbai, Nov 15: Merely crying out "Bharat Mata ki Jai" does not represent patriotism, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said Thursday, adding real nationalism is to work towards the upliftment of "all 130 crore Indians".
He was speaking at the annual Jamnalal Bajaj Awards presentations ceremony, where awardees were feted for their outstanding contribution to society.
"Patriotism does not mean crying out 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' or crying out 'Jai Hind' after watching a movie," Naidu said, after referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's definition of patriotism where everybody does his/her work dutifully.
Naidu said 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' means the upliftment of all the 130 crore Indians. "This is the meaning of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, that is "deshbhakti", that is patriotism, that is nationalism. That sort of attitude has to be there," he said.
Making a strong pitch for things "Swadeshi", Naidu said even in the era of an interconnected world and liberal foreign direct investment, we have to support local enterprises as recommended by Mahatma Gandhi.
He also hit out against growing "materialism" and "selfishness" in society and underlined the need for taking a wider view of things.
The Vice President said the nuclearisation of families from the earlier joint family system may be resulting in some of the degradation in society.
Lamenting that "we are sans morals and only behind science", he pitched for a need to "overhaul the education system to restore the value systems".
The colonial English mindset was akin to a "disease" which has continued even after the British left India, Naidu said.
"We need more of culture than religion in our discourse," Naidu said, adding "Google cannot replace the guru's place in our society".
In remarks bordering on the political, the BJP leader- turned-Vice President said "dynasty is nasty for a democracy" and recalled Mahatma Gandhi's remarks on the "need to disband the Congress after Independence".
He was quick to add that he is Vice President now and does not want his remarks to be misconstrued.
Naidu said there has been a change under Modi, where lesser known persons are being awarded the 'Padma' awards, compared to the practise in the earlier (Congress) era when most of the names in the list would be from "Lutyens' zone".
British architect Edwin Lutyens was responsible for much of the architectural design and building in the national capital when India was part of the British empire.
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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.
