HONEY BEE PLOY TO DISRUPT POLITICAL RALLY, CLAIMS POLITICIAN

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, March 17 (Bernama) -- In a bizarre case, a senior woman
politician from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh alleged that her rivals used
honey bees to disrupt her political rally.

On Monday, a swarm of bees invaded the podium where the state's chief
minister, Mayawati Kumari, was addressing a political rally in Lucknow, the
state's capital, to celebrate her party' silver jubilee.

And, her supporters now allege it was a political conspiracy to disrupt the
event, but they failed to name any parties yet.

Mayawati, the controversial but powerful leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP), which claims to champion lower castes community rights, had now directed
a police team to probe the bee incident.

Delhi-based Times Now news channel showed the bees swarming around Mayawati
for several minutes while her nervous-looking bodyguards looked lost.

The chief minister was unruffled by the bees and continued to speak, and the
bees, according to the channel, made a hive on the roof of the stage where
Mayawati was standing.

Mayawati faced sharp criticism after the gathering, where she received a
garland made of Indian banknotes (rupees) worth millions of dollars from her
party workers.

-- BERNAMA