Repeal farm laws without making it prestige issue: Ghulam Nabi Azad to government
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday asked the government to withdraw the three contentious farm bills without making it a prestige issue. Declaring that disrespect to the national flag cannot be tolerated, he also condemned the violence at Red Fort during the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day.
Participating in the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha, he suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself should make the announcement on repeal of the bills.
Modi was present in the House at the time.
Azad also made a case for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding assembly elections, saying that people of the area were not happy and development work had come to halt. In 2019, the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.
Earlier in the day, five hours were added to the discussion on the president's address to also allow the raising of issues related to farm bills. The new farm laws have led to protests at border points of the national capital and several parts of the country.
"I urge the government to withdraw these three bills," he said, and added that the government should set up a committee to find out the whereabouts of people "who have gone missing" during the farmers' protest. The senior Congress leader cited several examples, including one during his own party's rule in 1988, of the government giving in to the demands of farmers.
Referring to the violence that broke out in Delhi during farmers tractor rally on January 26, the Congress leader said the entire opposition condemns the incident as "it is against democracy".
"Disrespect to the national flag cannot be tolerated," he said while demanding the strictest of actions against the culprits.
Highlighting the problems which farmers would face because of the new laws, Azad said government should not see repealing of the legislations as a "prestige issue".
Describing farmers as "annadata", the Congress veteran said there was no point in confronting them. Instead, the government should focus on other important issues, including on revival of the economy.
Azad also raised the issue of registration of cases under stringent provisions against certain media persons and also his party colleague Shashi Tharoor.
"Shashi Tharoor was minister of state for external affairs. He has represented the country outside. How can he be an anti-national...then we all are anti-nationals," he said, and demanded withdrawal of sedation cases against them in the interest of democracy.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting at the Delhi borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the three laws -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.
However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.
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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.
