Police in Assam are usually wary of bicycles, the preferred carrier of bombs for militants in Assam.
They were understandably on edge when an elderly man with a placard around his neck tried to pedal through the high-security entrance of the Assam Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
The men in uniform took a few minutes before recognizing the cyclist as Prasanta Phukan, BJP legislator from Dibrugarh in eastern Assam.
Phukan was subsequently allowed in with his placard reading: "There's no alternative to cycling in the UPA price-rise era".
Phukan later said: "The UPA's inability to check skyrocketing prices of commodities and petroleum products will soon force everyone to bid cars and bikes goodbye. Why not start doing today what you will have to tomorrow?"