Reporter's Diary: Of buffaloes and bees

The police force in Rampur, the hometown of SP minister Azam Khan, had been on its toes since the past one week when, during an election meeting of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, bees attacked the crowd just before his arrival. The cops had a tough time controlling the crowd and driving away bees. Several cops were also stung. The bee attack is considered an evil omen because in 2012 when bees were seen hovering on the dais during Mayawati’s rally, she got voted out of power.

All district police chiefs have been told to ensure that there are no beehives in areas where VIP politicians address election rallies. “First we went around looking for Azam Khan’s buffaloes and were then asked to track BJP MLA Dharam Pal’s buffaloes, after which we were made to search for BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria’s missing dog. Now, it is the bees. It seems we have not joined the police force but are a part of the animal husbandry department,” grumbled a senior police official.

‘SAFFRONISING ISI’
The Congress in MP has accused the right-wing Hindutva brigade of attempting to “saffronise” Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The Opposition party was making a mockery of the ruling BJP in the wake of the exposure of alleged links of some saffron activists with the recently-busted espionage ring run by the ISI in MP.

“The revelation on some saffron activists’ involvement in the espionage racket promoted by the ISI indicates the Sangh’s design to saffronise the Pak spy agency,” a Congress spokesman in MP quipped. At least two of the 11 accused in the espionage racket have allegedly been found to be associated with the saffron outfit. While Dhruv Saxena had been one of the key members in the IT cell of the BJP, as per allegations by the Congress, local VHP leader in Satna, MP, Ashish Singh Rathore, was said to be an associate of Balram Singh, the reported mastermind of the ring.