Lucknow confidential: Brief Encounter

Both Priyanka and Chandrashekhar were in Varanasi on Sunday on the 643rd birth anniversary of Saint Ravidas.

There was an interesting situation during a roadshow by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Varanasi on Sunday. As Priyanka’s roadshow was chugging along the narrow lanes, she spotted Bhim Army chief Chadrashekhar at a shop near Saint Ravidas Temple. As soon as she saw Chandrashekhar, Priyanka asked the driver of her car to stop and waved her hands towards him with a smile. The two then met, exchanged greetings. She asked Chandrashekhar about his wellbeing before going back into her car and continuing with her roadshow. Chandrashekhar was seen waving his hands, saying that he will meet her. Both Priyanka and Chandrashekhar were in Varanasi on Sunday on the 643rd birth anniversary of Saint Ravidas.

Mute Or Unmute

Wasim Rizvi, the chairman of the UP Shia Waqf Board, has been very vocal on issues, which on most occasions is in sync with the ruling BJP. After the BJP came to power in the state in 2017, he has always made statements in favour of the ruling party. After the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute, Rizvi had donated Rs 51,000 for the construction of the Ram temple. He had also said last year in October that Muslims should hand over all the disputed site to Hindus “to correct the mistakes of our ancestors”. Now, with the BJP government giving sanction to Prayagraj police to prosecute him in a case for allegedly promoting communal enmity, it will be interesting to see if Rizvi continues to extend his support to the government. Last week, Rizvi also went to meet BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand after he was granted bail in the sexual assault case.

The Wait

Even more than a week since the post of Director General of Police (DGP) was vacated following the retirement of former DGP Om Prakash Singh, there has been no confirmation on the new DGP and the wait has put the UP Police in a leaderless situation. Though DG (Vigilance) Hitesh Chandra Awasthy has been made the officiating DGP, no new major decision or set of instructions issued in the department suggests the limitations of the posts. Those officials whose names have been sent to the higher authorities for confirmation are confused as they are yet to get any update on the same. Earlier on January 31, the day Om Prakash Singh retired, the Uttar Pradesh Police successfully launched a rescue operation in which they killed a man and his wife who had held 23 children hostage in a Farrukhabad village.