Sitharaman should focus on economy, not Baramati: NCP
New Delhi (PTI): The Sharad Pawar-led NCP on Saturday advised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to concentrate on steering the economy instead of focusing on Baramati, amid reports that she would again visit the Pawar family bastion.
The BJP has been aggressively shoring up its presence in the western Maharashtra constituency represented in Lok Sabha by NCP founder Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, who has been among the vocal critics of the Narendra Modi government.
"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is concentrating so much on 'B for Baramati' that she has forgotten 'E for Economy'. Reports say that Sitharaman will be back once again in Baramati to work on winning that seat for BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," NCP spokesman Clyde Crasto said.
He said Sitharaman has been tasked with the responsibility to make sure BJP defeats Sule from Baramati in the next Lok Sabha elections.
"In the process of trying to do so Sitharaman seems to have forgotten that she is also the Union Finance minister & her duty is to concentrate on our economy too, Crasto said.
Sitharaman had visited Baramati for three days in September and held meetings with BJP workers as part of efforts to prepare the party for the upcoming elections.
Union minister Pralhad Singh Patel was on a two-day tour of Baramati to strengthen the BJP organisation in the region.
"During her tenure, she has failed to take care of our economy & has made frivolous unsubstantiated statements to cover the same. This prompted her party leader Nitin Gadkari to praise our former PM Manmohan Singh for his handling of the Indian economy, Crasto said.
The NCP spokesman noted that Gadkari had also said India needed a liberal economic policy with the intention to provide its benefits to poor people.
"It is about time Sitharaman took her job seriously because concentrating too much on other issues will make her face 'L for Loss' in both 'Baramati' and the 'Economy', Crasto said.
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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.
