Shinde Sena MLA defends slap, says South Indians destroyed Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who brutally beat up the canteen manager for serving stale food at the Akashwani MLAs’ Hostel canteen, today defended slapping a hostel canteen manager, saying that he has no regrets for his action.

“It was only after my beating that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cancelled the licence of the canteen which served substandard food to the people. My method may have been wrong, but my reaction was not wrong,” he said and questioned why the opposition is so fond of the MLA hostel canteen manager who is a South Indian.

“The opposition has criticised me for the beating, but I must tell them that Maharashtra was destroyed by people from South India. All the ladies service bars and dance bars which Shetty people from South India run, ruined the youth and spoiled the culture of Maharashtra. Whatever I did, I did for the people of Maharashtra. So why is the opposition so fond of South Indians“, Gaikwad asked opposition MLAs.

 “South Indians have played a game with the health of the people of Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, all the dance bars, ladies service bars belong to these Shetty people from Karnataka. These people have done the work of destroying the culture of Maharashtra. These people have been ruining the youth of Maharashtra. Now, they are working to ruin our health. After the licence of this caterer is cancelled, it must be given to Marathi people who know what people in Maharashtra eat”, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad said.

Gaikwad said, “My crime is not that big. It is only a minor assault for which there is no provision for punishment in the law. It is merely a non-cognisable offence. There is no provision for punishment for it as per the law. Since the Maharashtra legislative assembly session is underway, I met the Speaker. I will now meet the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to present my case. If my action seems wrong, I am ready for the punishment, which the Chief Minister gives me. I wish to clarify that the person I beat up was not a waiter but the manager of the MLA Hostel’s canteen. The owner of the canteen has suspended him. In the last five years, 400 complaints were received against this canteen, but no action was taken. Narhari Jirwal Saheb said that I asked for action, but it has been two months and I never got any report. Five to ten thousand people ate at the canteen and their health was being played with. I have been suffering from stomach problems for the last 20 years. If I eat indiscriminately, I feel sick for 15 days. That is why I do not eat outside. If they serve poisonous food in the canteen, I feel sick again. So, my reaction was not wrong. My path was wrong, but I had no option but to do this. My action will save the health of lakhs of people“, MLA Gaikwad added.

Interestingly, Shinde-led Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Gaikwad’s statement has come at a time when the Indian Hotels & Restaurants Association (AHAR) is planning to go on a token strike after the Fadnavis government imposed a triple-whammy of taxes on the hospitality sector in less than a year.

According to AHAR president Sudhakar Shetty, in less than a year, value added tax (VAT) on liquor was doubled from 5% to 10% percent, followed by a 15% hike in licence fees for fiscal 2025-2026, and a staggering 60% increase in state excise duty.

“All taken together, these multiple tax blows have made the hospitality business unsustainable, especially considering that we are still reeling under the economic aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns. Roughly, 50% of the hotel owners and workers hail from Karnataka. This is not just an economic blow, but a potential death knell to an industry which contributes significantly to employment, state taxes and the national economy. These draconian hikes are akin to the final nail in the coffin of the hospitality sector”, he said.

The AHAR president further said that there are around 19,000 legal permit rooms and lounge bars which directly employ more than four lakh people as well as support around 48,000 vendors, with another estimated 18 lakh people indirectly dependent on this sector for their livelihoods. Many hoteliers are apprehensive whether they will be able to continue business operations under such pressures and tax regime, since they function on a wafer-thin five percent profit margin, he said.

Sudhakar Shetty further said that AHAR has sought an audience with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is the Urban Development Minister as well as Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who is the Finance and Planning Minister, to resolve their grievances, he added.

Team Maverick