Nishad Party quits 'Mahagathbandhan' in UP; its leaders meet CM Adityanath
Gorakhpur/Lucknow: Barely three days after joining the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad Party Friday sprang a surprise by parting ways with the fledgling anti-BJP alliance and meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
There was no immediate word from either side as to what transpired at the meeting between the Nishad Party leaders including its President Sanjay Nishad with Adityanath in Lucknow.
"The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad alias Riteash Nishad, media in-charge, Nishad Party, told PTI in Gorakhpur.
"There was conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol whereas Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he added.
The party workers were not willing to contest on the SP symbol and many of them began quitting, he said.
"So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on late Thursday it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he added.
When asked whether Pravin Nishad, MP, will also quit Samajwadi Party, he said, "I don't know about it."
The Nishad Party is headed by Sanjay Nishad, the father of Pravin Nishad who had won the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat on an SP ticket in the 2018 by-polls.
The win had been remarkable, as Gorakhpur was considered a bastion of Adityanath, who had represented the parliamentary constituency several times before.
A Nishad Party insider accused SP chief Akhilesh Yadav of backtracking on his promises.
"They did not put our name on the posters/letters or anything. Our party workers, authorities, core committee were upset," he said.
"So, the Nishad Party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently and can look for other options as well. The party is free now," he added.
When contacted, SP national spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury told PTI that he had no information of the decision taken by the Nishad Party.
Just three days ago on Tuesday, the Nishad (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) Party in a press conference in Lucknow had announced that it was joining the grand opposition alliance in the state.
On the day of the announcement, Sanjay Nishad had addressed a press conference in which he had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him a 'jumlebaz' as well as Adityanath.
"Our constitution, youth and farmers' futures are in grave danger. People voted for a 'jumlebaz' party cause of their false promises," he had said.
"Modi and Yogi promised many things for Nishad community but nothing was done. The Nishad community will now give full support to the SP-BSP alliance in all the state," he added.
The Nishad Party, sources said, is in talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some seats including Gorakhpur.
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.
