Kumaraswamy slams Modi over "Mission Shakti"
Bengaluru, Mar 27: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday questioned whether the success of the A-SAT was a major achievement of the Modi government and charged the Prime Minister with seeking votes "using the works done by someone else."
"Is it a major achievement (of Modi government)? There is a team of scientists in the country specifically for that purpose.They do their job in a routine manner, irrespective of whichever government is in power.
So using somebody else's work, should anyone seek votes? It is the contribution of citizens who are experts in some specialised fields," the chief minister said.
India Wednesday shot down a satellite revolving at the low earth orbit, thereby joining the league of developed nations which have achieved this feat, about which the prime minister made the announcement in his televised address to the nation.
In an apparent bid to downplay the achievement, Kumaraswamy said "Did Narendra Modi shoot the anti-satellite? It is the scientists who made it possible."
Mocking Modi, Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru that the prime minister made everyone wait for half-an-hour, so much so that everybody was in tension, whether they were in the bathroom, office or bus stand.
Turning to journalists, he said the media needs such stories to attribute every achievement to Modi.
"You need this (such stories). This is an era where achievements started 50 years ago are projected as if something done now by Modi," the chief minister said.
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao credited scientists and engineers at IISc, DRDO and ISRO for the achievement.
"It is indeed a matter of pride. Modi says today that India has emerged as a space super power, but I would like to tell him that India became space superpower long back, not today.
Chandrayaan and Mangal Yaan and many other satellites were launched long back.
The credit should go to our scientists and engineers at IISc, ISRO and DRDO," Rao told reporters in Bengaluru.
Congress strongman and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah gave credit to successive Prime Ministers and scientists for the development of A-SAT.
He tweeted; "Years of ground work, persistent efforts, incremental technological advancements & the vision of all the Prime ministers, scientists & other stakeholders have now yielded results."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
