Lucknow Nama: B’day and party

Hair him out

Former BJP MLA from Deoband Sukhbir Singh Pundir has not shaved his beard and moustache ever since the party announced Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in September. Pundir,who was at party state headquarters in Lucknow this week,said he would shave only when Modi becomes PM. A law graduate and farmer by profession,Pundir (62) has attended all Modi rallies held in the state so far. He was BJP MLA from 1996-2002. Jailed during the emergency,Pundir had also been an office-bearer in the student union of a degree college in Saharanpur.

Cane charged

A Toyota showroom’s owner in Noida had to bear the brunt of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) for being the relative of a sugar mill operator. During the agitation over the cane issue,the BKU activists locked the showroom and went away. Harried owners contacted top officials of the administration and the police for help,who advised him to keep mum. The owners patiently waited for nine long days till the mills announced to start crushing and BKU activists unlocked the showroom.

Double whammy

Agriculture minister Kunwar Anand Singh’s visit to Banda district landed him in trouble. Firstly,Banda Superintendent of Police Uday Shanker Jaiswal sat on the floor in front of the minister. The picture was clicked and aired on news channels leading to a controversy. Later,when Anand Singh boarded his helicopter to return,it developed a technical snag. The minister,who could otherwise had stayed there,left immediately for Lucknow in a car.

Unsurprising action

During Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s surprise inspection at Fatehpur district,a Samajwadi Party worker complained to him about the erratic power supply. Akhilesh immediately summoned the executive engineer. When the latter did not show up,an angry CM was about to declare his “punishment” when some official informed him that he was at the rally of minister Shivpal Yadav,who is also Akhilesh’s uncle. The engineer was spared.

Office office

The office of senior IAS officer Pravir Kumar,posted as Principal Secretary in Department of Medical Health and Family Welfare,is located at the secretariat building in Janpath market. But for the past 15 days,Kumar is working out from the nearby office of Awas Bandh,a body of Housing and Urban Planning department,whose Principal Secretary Sada Kant has not visited his office for the past few weeks. Kumar,it is learnt,wants to avoid public and some politiciams as well. His staff at Janpath market tell visitors that Kumar has gone for a meeting somewhere.