Arshad Zubair, the Muslim staffer who was allegedly forced to eat during Ramzan by Sena MPs
New Delhi:
Apparently unaware that he was being filmed, a lawmaker from the Shiv Sena forces a roti into the mouth of a catering supervisor at the Maharashtra government's official guest house in Delhi. The man, a Muslim named Arshad Zubair, was fasting for Ramzan.
The Shiv Sena denied force-feeding the man - and then the video surfaced. "We didn't force anyone to break his roza. These are false allegations. We were protesting against poor service and bad food, that's all," said the party's Shrikant Shinde, who was among the group of MPs involved in the controversy.
But a written complaint states otherwise.
The incident dates to Thursday at the Maharashtra Sadan - all states have guest houses in Delhi to host their representatives and official visitors.
The food at the Sadan was provided by a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, which has cut off meals in protest. It has also received a note of apology from Bipin Mallik, the Resident Commissioner of Maharashtra, who, as the representative of the state government in Delhi, has administrative control of the Maharashtra Sadan.
The Sena's lawmakers say that Mr Mallick is biased against them and is misrepresenting the facts.
Sources at the Maharashtra Sadan say a clock was broken in his office by the Sena's members in a typically audacious rampage.
The party's lawmakers say they have complained regularly about poor services at the guest house. In addition to sub-standard food, they claim they are offered tiny rooms.
Leaders from different political parties have condemned the Sena, and demanded an apology.