Conspiracy theories start doing rounds after arrest of Vikas Dubey

Arrest theories

As soon as fugitive Vikas Dubey was arrested in Ujjain, conspiracy theories started circulating thick and fast. In a series of tweets, the Madhya Pradesh Congress cast doubts on the whole episode and termed it a game of “shelter and surrender”. The party tweeted: “Ujjain Collector says a private security guard caught Dubey; then why is home minister Narottam Mishra congratulating the MP Police. Mishra was in-charge of Kanpur during UP elections and now he is in-charge of Ujjain; rest you are smart enough to guess”. Party MLA and former law minister P C Sharma accused Bharatiya Janata Party leaders of helping Dubey though he did not name anyone. “He must have had some connection with the ruling party in MP. Why else would he choose to surrender here,” Sharma said.    

Minister of all departments

First, selecting ministers took over 100 days. Now even after seven days of the cabinet expansion in Madhya Pradesh, new ministers haven’t been allotted their portfolios. The tussle within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit of the state is out into the open. Senior MLA and former minister Ajay Vishnoi expressed his resentment on a social media platform: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (pictured) spent two days in New Delhi but it is learnt that Jyotiraditya Scindia is rigid and asking for key portfolios for his loyalists, he alleged. Portfolio allocation was expected on Thursday before the cabinet meeting but it could not take place. “I am the minister of all departments and the government is running smoothly,” Chouhan responded.

Pakora protest

The Covid-19-induced closure of educational institutions has prompted coaching-institute owners in Uttar Pradesh to seek a relief package from the Adityanath government. Such institutes have been lying closed since March following the lockdown, rendering tens of thousands of teachers and support staff without any income. UP Coaching Association President Vijay Singh said while the institutes were not operational, the fixed costs of rentals and electricity bills continued to accumulate during that period. To attract the attention of the UP government, coaching centre owners have announced they would stage demonstrations, during which they would make tea and fry pakoras.