CRPF in Bengaluru to carry out I-T raids on Thursday, alleges Kumaraswamy
Warned Centre of following Mamata Bannerjee if it tries to bully them
Bengaluru, Mar 27: Raising fears about possible income tax raids on Congress-JD(S) functionaries, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday claimed CRPF personnel have been brought from various parts of the country to carry out I-T raids in Karnataka.
"I have got a specific information that some 200 to 300 CRPF sleuths have arrived from various parts of the country.
They will be ferried from the airport to the city.
They have been brought to Bengaluru from other states to carry out income tax raids in Karnataka," Kumaraswamy told reporters at Mandya.
He claimed that the raids may be carried out at 5 am Thursday.
I-T officials were not immediately available for comment.
Striking a belligerent note, Kumaraswamy warned the BJP-led NDA government that he would follow what his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee did if it tried to "bully" the Congress-JDS coalition partners.
Banerjee had staged a "Save the Constitution" dharna from February 3 to 5 at Kolkata after the CBI's failed bid to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with chit fund cases.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the Centre had resorted to politics of vengeance using the income tax officials as its agents.
Sending a stern message to income tax officials, he said, "I know the game income tax officials are playing at the final stage of election.
They should be cautious because if they think that they can function like the agents of a political party forever, they may end up repenting."
Kumaraswamy accused the income tax officials of being unfair. He said usually the taxmen take the help of state police while carrying out raids but this time they brought CRPF jawans from various parts of the country.
"Let us see from whom they will collect... I think the Congress and the JD(S) functionaries can be the target," the chief minister said.
Insisting that he never believed in politics of vengeance, Kumaraswamy said he never came in the way of Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths to raid corrupt officials.
"If they (Centre) try to bully us, I will follow what Mamata Bannerjee did," he added.
Alarmed by the disclosure, the Congress' Karnataka unit wanted to know whether I-T, Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation were the arms of the BJP-led Central government to win elections.
"Are the CBI, I-T and ED the election tools against the opposition parties? First time in the history of India (Prime Minister) Modi misused the autonomous institutions on large-scale.
People will teach a lesson to a failed Narendra Modi for his action against the leaders of coalition government," the Congress tweeted.
Lok Sabha elections are being held in two phases in Karnataka on April 18 and 23.
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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.
