Those who have lot to hide will fear CBI: Jaitley
Bhopal, Nov 17: In the wake of the Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments withdrawing the "general consent" accorded to the CBI to conduct raids and probes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday said those who had a lot to hide would fear the central agency.
He was speaking to reporters here after releasing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) manifesto for the November 28 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.
The Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments have withdrawn their "general consent" to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct raids and investigations.
The agency would now need permission from the respective state governments to carry out any investigation in these states, except those ordered by the courts and against central government officials.
"It is only those who have a lot to hide will take the step of saying let the CBI not come to my state. There is no sovereignty of any state in the matter of corruption," Jaitley said in response to a query.
"It is believed that Andhra's move is not motivated by any particular case, but by the fear of what is likely to happen. I am not saying anything more than that at the moment," he added.
"We have a federal structure in India and under that federal structure, the CBI was created initially for the employees of the central government and then, to investigate certain kinds of very serious cases in the states, which were referred to it either by the states or courts," Jaitley 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.
