National Herald PMLA case: D K Shivakumar appears before ED again
New Delhi (PTI): Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday again appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.
This is the second time that the federal agency is recording his statement in the case that has been registered under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The 60-year-old former Karnataka cabinet minister told reporters he has furnished all documents sought by the agency in connection with the probe and that he had to depose again despite seeking a deferment of the summons.
He was last questioned by the ED in the case last month after which he told reporters outside the agency's office on A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi that he was asked "a lot of questions" about Young Indian, the company that owns National Herald, his family members, and institutions linked to him.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal have been questioned by the ED over the last few months in the National Herald money laundering case.
The Gandhis are the majority shareholders of Young Indian.
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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.
