The children were taken to Delhi restaurant by a woman, Sonali Shetty, who was celebrating her husband's birthday.
Highlights
- Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said an inquiry has been ordered
- He also said the restaurant can even lose its license
- Restaurant claims children were dirty and were disturbing other patrons
A restaurant in Delhi has got into trouble after refusing to serve a group of economically deprived children. The Delhi government has ordered an investigation and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Manish Sisodia said it might even lose its license.
"This cannot be tolerated. This is inhuman. Our constitution speaks of equality," Mr SIsodia said. "I guess, the license will also be cancelled."
The children were taken to the restaurant by a woman, Sonali Shetty, who was celebrating her husband's birthday.
Ms Shetty, who later held a dharna, said, "For 10 hours I was sitting outside the restaurant. They were humiliating the kids."
There is "no difference" between the rich and the poor, she said. "(But) if you are poor, you are not allowed to sit and eat."
The restaurant has claimed that the children were creating trouble and disturbing other customers.
"I think I have my rights reserved, that if someone troubles our guests, then we can ask them to leave and that's what we did. I don't think we have done anything wrong," said Roma Mohapatra, the public relations official for the restaurant.
"Yesterday Didi took us to a restaurant for dinner. Then a man came and told us to get out. Then we went somewhere else to eat," said one of the children.
A resident of Dehradun, Ms Shetty was in town for the weekend. But she has postponed her return, saying she wants to follow up on the matter.