Politics over Sarus
Ironically, state bird Sarus is at the centre of politics, which is playing out in UP, with both the ruling BJP and opposition SP squabbling after the forest department registered a case against the man who nursed the bird . The man in question had found the bird in an injured state a year ago and he brought it back to health, striking a chord with it in the process. The issue hit the headlines after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav visited Mohammad Arif, the man who rescued the bird in Amethi. The SP chief tweeted his picture with Arif and Sarus. This led to forest officials to take the bird away from Arif and book him under Wildlife Protection Act.
Balancing act
The UP unit of BJP has sought to strike a balance between various castes in its state executive committee, by naming 13 OBC leaders in a 45-member list of state office-bearers. The ruling party has appointed eight Scheduled Castes (SCs) leaders as well. Notably, the state unit of BJP is headed by Bhupendra Chaudhury, a Jat (OBC) leader from western UP. The new executive of the UP BJP includes nine Brahmins, seven Thakurs and seven leaders belonging to other upper castes, including Vaishya, Bhumihar and Khatri. The party has chosen to retain 32 leaders from the outgoing executive committee.
Rhodes on roads
It is a scene for cricket-loving Lucknowites to cherish as South African cricketer, the fielding great, Jonty Rhodes can be seen hitting the roads of the city of nawabs on a green Royal Enfield 350. However, most of the other cricket stars ascended to Lucknow for IPL matches beginning April 1, shuttle between their hotels and stadium through buses. Rhodes can often be found on city roads wearing shades and helmets and even recognized and cheered by fans. On March 23, Jonty posted his picturewith the bike on Twitter, saying: “Since my first #IPL, I have always been amassive fan of the @royalenfield #classic, just ask @sidlal (Siddhartha Lal,CEO of Royal Enfield), he has the picture to prove it!...
Namita bajpai
Our correspondent in Uttar Pradesh
namita.bajpai@ newindianexpress.com