The Hindu : A road show

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 12, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

A road show

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, FEB. 11. The Union Labour Minister, Sahib Singh Verma, was in his elements during his programmes in the City on Wednesday.

At a Bharatiya Janata Party-organised function near Nizam College, he created a flutter by taking out his handkerchief and cleaning the chrome-coated statue of Babu Jagjivan Ram. A reporter asked him how many handkerchiefs he kept, he snapped, "Only one."

Mr. Verma then led a scooter rally of party activists over a 20-km stretch as part of the "Atal sandesh yatra.'' He himself drove an old scooter with the city BJP president, Venkataramani, on pillion throughout the route. The Union Minister of State for Urban Development, B. Dattatreya, also travelled on a scooter a short distance before withdrawing while the two former MLAs -- K. Laxman and Prem Singh Rathore -- went the whole hog.

The rally terminated at the Indira Park near Lower Tank Bund with a meeting of street vendors and hawkers organised by the BJP to mark the death anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyaya. Mr. Verma recalled Upadhyaya's saying "nar seva hi, Narayana seva'' (service to man is service to God) and there could be no better people to serve than those on the streets.

At the meeting, the former Delhi Chief Minister spotted Chennaiah, a frail old man, in the crowd and sent for him. Mr. Verma removed the turban presented to him and put it on the sugarcane juice vendor at Kothi. Not content, Mr. Verma offered his seat to Chennaiah and urged him to preside over the meeting. Thereafter, every speaker, including Mr. Verma, addressed Chennaiah as "president.''

The scooter rally covered Nampally, Moazzamjahi Market, Afzalgunj, Imlibun bus station, Chaderghat, Kachiguda, Barkatpura, Narayanguda, Chikkadpally, RTC crossroads before reaching Indira Park.

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Andhra Pradesh