Was Vajpayee's death announced late to avoid disrupting Narendra Modi's I-Day speech
Questions Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut
Mumbai, August 26: Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday questioned whether former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee died on 16 August or if his death was announced that day to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence day speech was not disrupted.
Raut, a Rajya Sabha member who is also the editor of the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna', gave no explanation or reason for questioning the day of Vajpayee's death that was announced by AIIMS, which also gave his time of death on 16 August.
"Rather than our people, our rulers should first understand what is 'swarajya' (self-rule). Vajpayee died on 16 August, but from 12-13 August, his condition was deteriorating. To avoid national mourning and lowering of flag to half-mast on Independence Day, and also (because) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to make his elaborate speech from the Red Fort, Vajpayee left this world on 16 August (or his death was announced)," Raut said.
The article in Marathi is titled "What is swarajya?".
Though Shiv Sena is an alliance partner of the BJP at the Centre as well as in Maharashtra, it has been taking swipes at the saffron party and Modi.
Raut, in the article, said National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah shouted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai"and "Jai Hind" at a condolence meeting for Vajpayee, and for this reason, he was manhandled in Srinagar.
"And the government shielded the culprits. This new kind of freedom has now emerged," the Sena MP wrote.
"When it is learnt that police have captured terrorists who had planned to carry out attacks in Delhi, it tells you that Independence Day is nearing. This tradition continued this year too. Ten terrorists who wanted to sabotage Independence Day celebrations were arrested. A huge cache of arms was seized. So (afterwards), the prime minister celebrated Independence Day fearlessly," Raut added.
"Prime Minister Modi made several announcements for the poor (in his Independence day speech). The tone of his speech suggested that previous governments did nothing, and so freedom (until now) had been wasted," Raut wrote.
He said though the prime minister says people who take bribes are facing action, bribery has not decreased.
"..It is true that welfare schemes are run on the taxes which honest people pay. It is also true that the prime minister's foreign tours are funded by the same money, and thousands of crores are spent on advertisements from the same money. This is how the new 'swarajya' is functioning," the Sena leader wrote.
Courtesy: www.firstpost.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.
