Dikshit turns to God on CNG

new delhi: on the eve of their final test before the supreme court on the cng issue, the delhi government looked heavenwards for some kind of help. sheila dikshit and parvez hashmi turned up at an akhand path organised by transporters' unions on wednesday, hoping god, if no one else, would bail them out of this drawn-out crisis. "bhagwan ka ashirwad hum sabke saath rahe," dikshit muttered, being the first to arrive at gurudwara bangla sahib. clad in a cream sari, she was given a saffron 'saropa' by the head priest. then came hashmi, who too hoped "all would be blessed". perhaps by another extension of the deadline. but it was not just members of the government largely to blame for the mess that put in a show. political foes finally got to agree on one point about the cng issue: only god can resolve it. bjp leader madan lal khurana, architect of many anti-government protests, lent his voice, and a broad smile. so did former delhi industry minister harsharan singh balli. the three-day recitation of the guru granth sahib was organised by the delhi transporters' unions, hoping for an extension in the cng conversion deadline which expires this month. the transporters, happy to see politicians from both sides of the divide there, requested dikshit and hashmi to stay on. the chief minister promptly excused herself saying "assembly mein bhi jaana hai." khurana and hashmi seemed so in tune, they came out with a joint statement: "both the union and city governments extend their support for the transporters' cause." after having 'bhog', they spent a few minutes with heads lowered, prayed for blessings, and then left. soon after the politicians left, the transporters shifted base to bhagwan dass road near the supreme court. led by the contract bus association chief harish sabharwal, they sat on an indefinite hunger strike, demanding an extension of the september 30 deadline. "after knocking on the doors of god, it's time to knock on the doors of the supreme court," said sabharwal.