India, April 10 -- Amid loud protests and heated exchanges, the much-opposed Gargai dam proposal, approved at a revised cost of Rs.5,051 crore, was passed at the BMC general body meeting on Thursday. The debate took an unusual turn when the House turned into a quasi-mushaira, with leaders from both the opposition and the ruling alliance using couplets to make their point.

Congress leader Ashraf Azmi opened his argument with an Urdu couplet: 'Tumhare filon mein gaanv ka mausam gulabi hai/ Lekin tumhare aankde jhoothe hai, ye dava kitabi hai, Tumhare mez chaandi ke, tumhare jaam sone ke, Magar Ramu ke ghar mein aaj bhi tooti rakabi hai." (In your files, the weather in villages is rosy/ But your figures are false and exist only in books/ Yo...