Upset leader quits BJP, hands resignation letter to office ‘Chowkidar’
LUCKNOW: A BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh, not chosen as a candidate for next month's national election, handed over his resignation to the guard, or chowkidar, of the BJP office in Lucknow. The gesture is loaded, at the height of the BJP's "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign.
Anshul Verma, 44, won the 2014 election from the Hardoi seat, around 100 km from state capital Lucknow, despite carrying the inconvenient tag of an "outsider".
This time, the BJP refused to name him for the seat, instead choosing Jai Prakash Rawat. Anshul Verma has now joined the Samajwadi Party.
Jai Prakash Rawat was a BJP parliamentarian twice from this seat in the 1990s. Then he joined the Samajwadi Party and won from a different seat in 2004. He returned to the BJP in 2018.
Sources in the BJP say Anshul Verma was seen to be inaccessible to party workers and the people of his constituency.
The former BJP leader denies this. "Vikaas Kiya hai vikaas karenge. Anshul they Anshul hi rahenge ...chowkidaar na kahenge (I worked for development. I will remain Anshul, I won't call myself chowkidaar)," Mr Verma told reporters in a reference to the chowkidar campaign for which BJP leaders changed their Twitter accounts to add the prefix Chowkidar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to do so; the campaign is meant to strike back at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress over their campaign alleging corruption in the Rafale jet deal with the slogan "Chowkidar Chor Hai (the guard is a thief)".
BJP's Hardoi MP Anshul Verma handed his resignation to Chowkidaar at BJP office. He is confused after so much Chowkidaars in BJP but he chooses Asli Chowkidaar... pic.twitter.com/z35nM2BSOc
— Prashant Kanojia (@PJkanojia) March 27, 2019
Mr Verma asked the media to film him as he wrote out his resignation letter to BJP chief Amit Shah.
"It was because of me that the party won from Hardoi in 2014, after a long gap of 21 years," Mr Verma wrote in his resignation letter.
"Today it seems the most responsible person is the chowkidar. So I thought, why not hand over the resignation letter to a real chowkidar instead of giving it to those who pretend to be so," Mr Verma said.
The Samajwadi Party has already announced a heavyweight candidate from Hardoi but may be willing the accommodate Mr Verma elsewhere.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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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.
