There was an unlikely trigger to the aggressive conduct of Shiv Sena MP Rajan Vichare, who tried to force-feed a roti to catering supervisor Arshad Zubair S. and allegedly violated his roza, at Maharashtra Sadan last week.
According to Sadan sources, Sena MPs had been upset with Resident Commissioner (RC) Bipin Mallick for allotting BJP MP and former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh a suite which generally reserved for the Maharashtra’s cabinet ministers and High Court judges.
Of the 138 rooms at the Sadan -- the largest State guest house in the Capital -- 64 have been allotted to 32 first-time MPs who are yet to get official quarters.
In addition to them, three BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh, including Anuja Bala, Mahendra Pandey and Dr. Singh stay here, a protocol officer said.
"Of the two rooms, one is for the MP’s family and the other is for the staff. There have been complaints of brackish water in rooms and slow service of the canteen, as it is short-staffed. This was communicated by the Sena MPs to the Resident Commissioner. However, the situation became tense after Nashik MP Hemant Godse's wife was denied an additional room on July 16,” the officer said.
“Sena MPs, led by Mr. Vichare, formerly a mayor of Thane, complained that when Dr. Singh could be given a ministerial suite with several rooms, why was Mr. Godse denied the same facility. They called for a meeting with Mr. Mallick on July 17 at 12 P.M. in the press room. Mr. Mallick, however, went to the airport to receive Chief Secretary J.S. Saharia and Additional Resident Commissioner Samir Sahai was asked to chair the meeting,” the officer said.
According to the source, Mr. Sahai has recently taken charge and is unaware of the problems of the canteen. This angered the Sena MPs who marched along with journalists into the kitchen and heckled Mr. Zubair. Those present in the kitchen claim that Mr. Vichare did not know that Mr. Zubair was fasting. They also put up a handwritten bill reading "Maharashtra Sadan is ours, not yours" in Marathi in the cafeteria. Later, they protested at the Resident Commissioner's chamber.
Mr. Saharia met the protesting Sena MPs later in the afternoon. During the meeting, Amravati MP Anandrao Adsul complained that Mr. Mallick was inaccessible and disrespected the guests.
The following day, Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) withdrew from the canteen and it has been shut since. On Tuesday, former Sadan manager Nitin Gaekwad -- currently posted at the Mantralaya in Mumbai -- came to Delhi to meet the MPs and discuss the future of the canteen.
Manager transferred
Current Sadan Manager Suhas Mamdapurkar, who prepared the report on the July 17 incident, was transferred back to his parent department -- Food and Civil Supplies -- in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mr. Mamdapurkar had been posted in Delhi only two months ago. A staffer at the Sadan told this paper, "A junior officer is being punished from wrongly allotting the suite to Dr. Singh. He was only following orders."
Mallick's mobile phone remained switched off on Wednesday. Additional RC Samir Sahai told The Hindu, "The manager was transferred for administrative reasons. The RC will give you details when he returns tomorrow. The government has ordered an inquiry into the incident at the canteen. The IRCTC is having its own inquiry into what took place between their staff and the MPs."
