Report of journalists contracting Covid-19 makes scribes in Lucknow jittery

Unfavoured colleagues 

Almost a month after Shivraj Singh Chouhan (pictured) took oath of office as chief minister, Madhya Pradesh finally got a cabinet recently. But the point to note is, in the mini cabinet (there are only five ministers), not a single member is of Chouhan’s choice, according to those in the know. Narottam Mishra, who has been allotted important portfolios like health and home, is a known anti-Chouhan BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh. He played a crucial role in toppling the Congress government in the state and was one of the contenders for the top job. Tulsiram Silawat and Govind Singh Rajpoot are Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists. Two other ministers, Kamal Patel and Meena Singh, are also not considered Chouhan’s favourites. Leaders like Rajendra Shukla and Bhupendra Singh, who are close to Chouhan, couldn’t make it to the final list. They will have to wait for the cabinet expansion.

Media jitters 

The report of journalists, print and electronic, contracting coronavirus has made scribes in Lucknow jittery. Although most media houses have provided the option of work from home to journalists, a group of media persons, especially belonging to the electronic news channels, has to routinely venture outdoors to cover stories live or attend daily official media briefings. With concerns growing, some of these journalists had urged the Uttar Pradesh government to conduct their sample tests. Thereafter, the samples of 83 journalists were taken in Lucknow. State Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi, after a media briefing, gleefully announced that 80 of these samples had tested negative, while the report of the remaining three was awaited. He hoped they too would be negative. Even otherwise, he always advised all to exercise social distancing and wear masks.

Home alone

While the government has allowed skeleton staff to report for duty in its ministries and departments, the Department of Personnel and Training has asked all departmental canteens to shut down to ensure social distancing. So what about food? Officials have been asked to get food from home. 
 

To maintain social distancing, the Lok Sabha secretariat has temporarily closed down the MPs’ reading-

hall and reading-rooms on the Parliament House premises and Parliament Library building.