Rahul must apologise in front of Akal Takht for crimes against Sikhs: BJP
New Delhi, Aug 24 : The BJP on Friday said the Congress is identified with 1984 anti-Sikh riots and slammed its President Rahul Gandhi for invoking Guru Nanak Dev during his address in Berlin. The BJP also demanded his apology for the heinous crime against Sikhs
"Rahulji is invoking Guru Nanak Devji merely for vote-bank politics. For him, Sikhs are merely a vote bank," BJP national secretary Sardar R.P. Singh said. "Rahul should apologise for the heinous crime in front of Akal Takht at Golden Temple in Amritsar," he said.
He was referring to the Congress leader's remarks while addressing the Indian diaspora in Berlin on Wednesday night. In his address, Gandhi said that the BJP and RSS were weakening the country "by causing divisions and spreading hatred."
Singh said that Gandhi's thoughts are actually in line with the "Congress culture of divide and rule".
"We think that his thinking does not resemble with the thinking of Guru Nanak Devji, but his thinking resembles the ideology of Congress, the culture which divided the country and has only tried to rule the country," Singh said.
The BJP leader also said that the Congress President referred to Sikhs as a friend in need . "To take votes you have a friendship, but when the justice for Sikhs is sought, you can't see the same friendship," he said.
"You and your party always promoted people like Sajjan (Kumar), (H.K.L.) Bhagat, (Jagadish) Tytler, Kamal Nath," he said.
He also said that about 3,000 Sikhs died in Delhi in 1984. "The Home Minister at that time said that only 600 people had died, but the real list was given in Parliament by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji that 3,000 people died in the massacre. That forced the government to accept that about 2,700 people died in Delhi," he added.
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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.
