It was around 11 pm on Friday night that the crowds outside an ice-cream shop in Hazratganj were rudely herded on to the pavement. The shutters of the shop were forcibly downed and cars parked on the empty roadside were bundled off. Chief minister Mayawati, the cops said, was arriving for “ganjing” — a local parlance used to describe a leisurely walk around Hazratganj, the city centre of Lucknow.
However, the preparations before the CM came for ganjing were far from “leisurely”. The Nagar Nigam van to catch stray dogs frantically moved up and down to spot stray dogs that, apparently, were cleverer — they all hid inside the lobby of a cinema hall.
Dozens of sweepers descended into the freezing temperatures to sweep the road.
Water was sprinkled to make Hazratganj, which had recently being given a makeover to commemorate 200 years of existence, look spic and span.
Media persons collected a group of young teenagers and asked them to sing “Happy birthday to Ms Mayawati’ for the camera’s sake. The kids rehearsed their act to perfection.
Finally, the pilot car arrived at 11.15 pm, followed by the chef minister’s convoy comprising 35 white ambassadors. The convoy slowly made it way through the empty street, allowing the chief minister to glance at the freshly painted market centre.
The teenagers burst into the happy birthday song but the chief minister simply looked away.
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Ex-MP: CBI probe must in AMU case
Age correspondent
New Delhi
Jan. 15: A former MP on Saturday demanded a CBI probe into allegations of irregularities against Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice-chancellor P.K. Abdul Azis, accusing him of blocking the ongoing investigation into the charges against him.
A delegation led by former MP Waseem Ahmed will be meeting President Pratibha Patil and PM Manmohan Singh.
“The probe by a two-member committee was to conclude on January 31 but now as one of the members got indisposed, it is not going to be so,” Mr Ahmed said. We are demanding a CBI probe into the irregularities,” Mr Ahmed said.
The delegation will also meet HRD minister Kapil Sibal in this regard.
“We want the CBI to probe the allegations of irregularities committed by Azis during his term,” he said adding that Azis was blocking the ongoing probe.
Mr Ahmed alleged that the vice-chancellor send books to the yet to be established AMU centres in Murshidabad and Malappuram.