'Force-feeding' rocks Parliament

Rajiv Rudy defends Shiv Sena, Advani says action 'wrong'

July 23, 2014 11:01 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 05:33 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

Parliament was rocked on Wednesday over reports of 11 Shiv Sena MPs, incensed at not being served Maharashtrian food, last week forcing a Muslim catering supervisor to break his Ramzan fast at the New Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi. Opposition MPs protested in both Houses of Parliament, even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu dismissed the allegations as “unsubstantiated”.

“We are dealing with a sensitive issue. Let us not try to rouse communal passions unnecessarily. Nobody knows the truth. Let the Chair get the facts and then we can discuss it,” Mr. Naidu said, a line repeated in the Rajya Sabha by his deputy, Prakash Javadekar. Outside Parliament, too BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy defended the Sena, saying the party had no intention of hurting anyone’s religious feelings, even as party veteran L.K. Advani described the action as “wrong”.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.