K'taka Cong protest against replacing MGNREGA, 'hate politics' in National Herald case
Bengaluru, Dec 20 (PTI): The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Saturday held a protest against the central government replacing the MGNREGA, and alleged "hate politics" against the party leadership in the National Herald case.
The protest at the Freedom Park here, led by state Congress president and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, was attended by a host of party leaders and legislators.
Addressing the protest meet, Shivakumar said that the Congress party and its workers won't let "Gandhi's India be converted into Godse's (Nathuram Godse) India."
Nathuram Godse's party (apparently referring to the BJP) is trying to remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for the unity and independence of the country, he said, as he called them "traitors" for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from the MGNREGA scheme.
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BJP leaders have lost the right to stage protests before Gandhi statues. "Here on, you (BJP) should not sit in protest in front of Gandhi statues," the Deputy CM said.
Challenging the BJP and the party led government at the Centre to remove Mahatma Gandhi's picture from the currency notes, he further said, "We will not let your attempts to distort history and succeed. The Congress will not allow it to happen."
Claiming that the Nehru-Gandhi family has sacrificed their property, lives and power for the sake of this country, Shivakumar alleged that the BJP has lost "dignity", as he hit out at the union government for targeting Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders in the National Herald case.
He accused the Centre of filing false cases against the Congress leadership, by using agencies out of "political hate".
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Shivakumar, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, ministers, and Congress legislators, had earlier participated in a protest on the issue on December 17, in front of Gandhi statue at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha at Belagavi, where the winter session of the state legislature was held from December 8-19.
Similar protests were also held at various districts and taluka centres of the state.
The Congress' move, came as the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was cleared by the Parliament, amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it.
Also, a court in Delhi recently refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charge against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald case.
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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.
