New Delhi: It is reported that 11 Shiv Sena MPs at Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi forced a Muslim worker to break his Ramzan fast. The MPs were apparently not satisfied by the fact that they had not been served Maharashtrian food.
IRCTC, the Indian Railways subsidiary catering for Maharashtra Sadan, suspended all operations in protest against the incident during which the Muslim worker was forced to eat a chapatti.
The issue also led to uproar in the Lok Sabha. Ex-railways minister Mallikarjun Kharge raised the matter in the Lower House. He was countered by Union parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu, who said that, “Nobody knows what the facts are; we must first get the facts.” The Speaker tried to maintain decorum in the House by saying that discussion on the incident would be allowed during question hour.
According to TV reports, Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena MP, has vehemently denied the allegations has said that the reports are “false and baseless”.
An eyewitness said that the food being served at Maharshtra Sadan was not of good quality and hence led to anger amongst the MPs.
The report was first made public by Indian Express. According to Express, a letter sent to Maharashtra chief secretary J Saharia has named the 11 Shiv Sena MPs as Sanjay Raut (Rajya Sabha), Anandrao Adsul (Amravati), Rajan Vichare (Thane), Arvind Sawant (Mumbai-South), Hemant Godse (Nashik), Krupal Tumane (Ramtek), Ravindra Gaikwad (Osmanabad), Vinayak Raut (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Shivaji Adhalrao Patil (Shirur), Rahul Shewale (Mumbai-South Central) and Shrikant Shinde (Kalyan).
