Following the threat, the restaurant owner was forced to apologise to the Bajrang Dal over the phone and change the event to a seafood festival.
The flex board advertising the 'Pakistani food festival' which was set on fire by Bajrang Dal members. Photo: Video Screengrab/Facebook/aslamcyclewala
New Delhi: In Gujarat’s Surat, a restaurant was forced to cancel its ‘Pakistani food festival’ after members of the Bajrang Dal vandalised the hoarding advertising the festival and threatened restaurant staff on Monday, December 13, the Indian Express reported.
The ‘Taste of India’ restaurant had put up a flex board announcing that the food festival was slated to take place from December 12 – 22. This board initially caught the attention of former Surat city Congress councillor Aslam Cyclewala, who uploaded a video showing this board on Facebook along with the claim that if such a board had been put up by an opposition to the ruling BJP, then the party would not have had any problem dubbing the restaurant owner a “traitor”.
The Facebook video soon went viral and by Monday afternoon, members of the Bajrang Dal reached the restaurant and warned the staff of potential consequences should they go ahead with the ‘Pakistani food festival’. Later, some of the right-wing group’s members took down the flex board and set it ablaze while chanting Jai Shri Ram, news agency PTI reported.
Local Bajrang Dal leader Deviprasad Dubey even claimed that the group had taken permission from South Gujarat convenor Dinesh Navadiya before burning the hoarding. Dubey was also quoted by the Indian Express as saying, “Later, we went to the spot and brought down the hoarding. We also called Dawer, the owner, and asked him why he has organised such a food festival. He apologised.”
The right-wing leader even said that he told Sandeep Dawar, the restaurant’s owner that the Dal would secretly send its members to the restaurant between the dates mentioned for the food festival to make sure that no Pakistani food was being served and that Dawar would have to suffer the consequences if it was found that it was.
Dubey went on to note that the Dal had not filed a police case against the restaurant owner as yet as it was awaiting the nod from the group’s leaders.
Dawar, despite having to apologise for the Pakistani food festival and having to change it to a seafood festival, stood by the idea, telling the Indian Express that even though he is against any political system that is against India, food is common everywhere around the world.
Dawar noted that the restaurant has organised food festivals representing the cuisines of various states and countries before and that they had no intention of even getting a Pakistani chef for the occasion. “…our staff had, through online videos, prepared a menu for food lovers,” he told the newspaper.
“We will not use the word ‘Pakistani’ anymore as it hurt the sentiments of some people,” Dawar told PTI.
(With PTI inputs)
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(With input from news agency language)
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