There was a commotion at a popular restaurant in Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday night when a minister of state and his supporters allegedly got into a scuffle with the restaurant’s staff over an argument on the reservation for the minister and his family.
Both parties leveled allegations and counter allegations against each other in the matter.
The incident involved Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Health Narendra Shivaji Patel.
According to sources, the minister and some of his family members had gone to the eatery for dinner, but got into an argument with the restaurant staff over the table reserved for them.
It is alleged that following the scuffle, the minister called the police and a team of the Food Department to the food joint at around 10 pm. A food department team took samples of some food items, which reportedly did not meet the quality standards.
The restaurant owner, Sanjay Arora, alleged that the minister’s supporters beat up the staff and vandalized the restaurant. He demanded that the police and the government should take action against the minister and his supporters.
Arora stated that if no action was taken, he would sit on a protest.
However, the minister denied all allegations. He told some media persons that all allegations against him are false and an attempt by the restaurant owner to divert attention from the food items of inferior quality found there.
The minister claimed that a sample of cooking oil failed quality tests. Patel pointed out that he had reviewed the work of the Food Department and the restaurant in question was part of a routine inspection.
The minister maintained that it was appropriate for him to be present during the sampling of food items at the restaurant.