"I have asked J S Saharia to probe the episode. I also had a meeting with resident commissioner Bipin Bihari Malik on the complaints made by Shiv Sena MPs," Chavan said. He added that the contract of the catering company supplying the sadan—Indian Railways subsidiary IRCTC—has now been cancelled because of the several complaints against it.
READ ALSO: Uproar in Parliament over force-feeding incident, members almost come to blows
The row at the sadan occurred on July 17, when around 11 Shiv Sena MPs, reportedly angry over the poor quality of the food there, forced a Muslim catering supervisor fasting for Ramzan to eat a chapatti. The supervisor, Arshad Zubair, complained to his superiors at IRCTC. And the same day, IRCTC deputy GM Shankar Malhotra mailed a complaint to resident commissioner Malik. Saharia was reportedly apprised of the outrageous episode. Yet, an inquiry was instituted on Wednesday after news channels aired video footage of the fracas.
The footage shows Sena MP Rajan Vichare forcing Arshad to eat a chapatti even as Arshad protests that he is fasting. Chavan expressed strong displeasure at Vichare's conduct: "The Shiv Sena MP's behaviour was dismal. Elected representatives must understand their responsibilities."
READ ALSO: Suspend, arrest Sena MPs, say outraged state Muslims
According to a senior bureaucrat, Chavan was so far in the dark on last week's episode. "Both Saharia and Malik were aware of it. But they never brought it to the notice of the CM and deputy CM. The chief minister should now assign responsibility to fix the problems in Maharashtra Sadan," he said, adding that several complaints had been made in the past about the poor food and maintenance at the sadan.
READ ALSO: CM orders probe into Sena MPs force-feeding a Muslim on fast
TIMES VIEW
MPs must be criminally prosecuted
Merely condemning this incident or seeking an apology from the offending MPs will not do. At the very least, there has been an assault on the catering supervisor and brazen intimidation. If the evidence establishes that he told the MP that he was observing a fast due to Ramzan, then it is much worse, in addition to assault and intimidation, it then would mean deliberately hurting somebody's religious feelings. If the MPs are let off lightly, it will severely undermine public confidence in the rule of law, which is already at quite a low ebb. They must be criminally prosecuted for these acts. Also, Parliament must act against them to show it does not condone such behaviour. The Sena itself must also take action. We hope events will prove that we are not being naive in making these demands.
READ ALSO: State BJP in a bind, but party says MPs should apologize
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