Akhilesh again slams UP govt for 'failing to manage coronavirus crisis'

University reshuffle

It seems the newly sworn-in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Madhya Pradesh has priorities other than fighting Covid-19. The government has not only removed the vice-chancellor (VC) of the state's top journalism university, it has also removed a handful of teaching staff appointed by the previous Congress government. On Saturday, Deepak Tiwari, who was appointed VC by the previous government, was asked to resign; on Sunday — an official holiday — the university removed two adjunct professors appointed by the former VC. The university has appointed RSS sympathiser Sanjay Dwivedi the new registrar. Last week, the university had removed another professor, Mukesh Kumar, who was a vocal critic of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

More work from home

Not only have Indian corporations embraced work from home with gusto amid the coronavirus lockdown, some social and political organisations have also followed suit. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has decided it would hold online meetings this month to discuss its various plans and deliberate on issues of current interest. The VHP started using video conferences to interact with senior office bearers from different regions in Uttar Pradesh from April 21. The VHP national working president Alok Kumar addressed members across India on Tuesday on the alleged "attempts by vested interests to weaken the collective fight against coronavirus" and advised them to exercise caution and restraint on issues related to the pandemic.

Akhilesh's rant

Continuing his tirade against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav (pictured) has again slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for allegedly failing to manage the coronavirus crisis in the state. He said instead of providing relief to the tens of thousands of poor people and labourers who were robbed of their livelihood owing to the lockdown, the Adityanath dispensation was merely paying lip service. Yadav observed that the BJP government, true to its character, was still "weaving dreams for the eyes of the gullible people", leaving them in the lurch. He even claimed that the state had adopted a discriminatory attitude in resolving the crisis of UP-origin labourers stuck in other states, while other states were making arrangements to receive their people.