As Mayawati proudly displayed her second garland of notes, this one worth 18 lakhs, in Lucknow, a third necklace made of money brought Patna to a stop.

The problem with necklaces made of money is that, well, they're just that - made of money. So when the supporters of a Member of Parliament saw him being greeted with a garland of notes, they decided to help themselves, and a free-for-all followed.

The idea was to welcome Ejaz Ali to Patna. Since Ali was suspended from the Rajya Sabha recently, the garland was presumably more to celebrate his home-coming than his performance as an MP. He was among the seven MPs suspended for unruly behaviour during the vote on the Women's Bill earlier this month. In October, he was also suspended from his party, the Janata Dal (United).