It was a farewell song, with a difference. A five-time member of the Rajya Sabha, 70-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader Najma Heptulla, whose term comes to an end in July, has left no one in doubt that she is in no mood to say quits.
Apparently, S.S. Ahluwalia, a BJP leader known for his lung power, was teasing her with a famous ghazal by singer Farida Khanum. “Aaj jane ki zid na karo…yun hi pehlu me baithe raho (Don’t leave today…Keep sitting by my side),” goes the song.
Turning to Ahluwalia, who usually sits next to her, she then looked at him and told him half-jokingly: “You have to make the effort to see that I keep sitting by your side!”
There was laughter, but Heptualla might just have got her message across.
