Civil society in Bangalore condemns India’s abstention in the UNGA to vote for a truce
Says, K'taka police, govt deliberately curtailed people’s right to freedom of speech, expression
Bengaluru: The Bengaluru for Justice and Peace organization in a release on Tuesday strongly condemned India’s abstention in the UNGA to vote for a truce. “It is condemnable that India decided to abstain from voting in the UNGA for an immediate, sustainable and durable humanitarian truce.”
The civil society organization also questioned the Indian government for stifling voices of solidarity with Palestinians despite India’s historical support for the Palestinian cause.
“ Our Prime Ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru, Manmohan Singh to our current Prime Minister Narendra Modi have spoken in favur of the rights of the Palestinian people. Even the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi stood in support of the Palestinian independence. In fact on the 19th of October the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement in support of the rights of the Palestinian People,” the release added.
It further pointed out that the Israeli military forces are performing “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians,” through ground invasion. “Israeli political leaders have issued statements showing clear intent to commit a genocide of the Palestinian people.” The release also mentioned that mass bombardment of all of Gaza violates the rules of Humanitarian law encoded in the Geneva conventions and stated that Israel’s latest bombing of Jabaliya refugee camp killing hundreds is a latest demonstration of impunity with which Israel violates the rules of war. The release further stressed, citing the UN General Assembly. “Genocide is a denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to live of individual human beings’ and ‘such denial of the right of existence shocks the conscience of mankind.”
In the meantime, the organization has strongly expressed its disappointment with the actions of the Karnataka police, which have curtailed protests and public expressions of solidarity with Palestine. It accuses the police of pursuing criminal action against peaceful protestors and mentions the Congress Working Committee's resolution in support of Palestine, contrasting it with the actions of the Karnataka police.
In the release the organisation has also demanded immediate action from both the Central and Karnataka state governments. From the Central government, the demands include an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and efforts to end Israel's occupation of Palestine. While, from the Karnataka state government, the demands incude, upholding the right to freedom of speech and expression and withdrawing FIRs against protestors.
Simultaneously, the Bengaluru for Justice and Peace organization strongly condemned the actions and emphasized the moral obligation of people to speak up for the rights of Palestinian people, especially as the situation continues to escalate. “Bengaluru for Justice and Peace strongly condemn the Karnataka police and the state government for failing its people, and deliberately curtailing their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. As the Israeli government is indicating that they will even resort to the use of nuclear weapons, it is the moral obligation of people everywhere to speak up for the rights of Palestinian people,” read the release.
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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.
