Unhealthy rumours

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sees the hand of a political rival in the persistent rumours doing the rounds about the ill health of its leaders and senior ministers. The BJP's conviction that its political rivals are behind such misinformation was corroborated, or so its leaders claimed, when on Saturday a couple of journalists started inquiring about the health of BJP President Amit Shah. Now, Shah is in the middle of a hectic election campaign, addressing two to three rallies every day in Maharashtra and Haryana for the upcoming Assembly elections in the two states. BJP office-bearers said they were surprised rumour-mongering was afoot not just about the health of Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley but also Shah. They claim Jaitley is recuperating well, monitoring party and government work from his sick bed, while there is little wrong with Shah to be of any cause of concern.