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A Mumbai restaurant has become the hot spot of a political controversy after youth workers of the Congress allegedly forced it to shut down on Monday because its bills mocked the government for being enslaved by corruption.
Aditi Pure Veg Restaurant in the central part of the city- was open for business today, drawing larger than usual crowds after news of its ordeal went viral. For much of the day, it was trending on Twitter as #AditiRestaurant.
"Height of intolerance!" tweeted senior BJP leader Narendra Modi.
In March, the owner Srinivas Shetty added this cheeky one-liner to the bills for customers: "As per UPA government, eating money (2G, Coal, CWG scam) is a necessity and eating food in an AC restaurant is a luxury."
But succumbing to pressure from the Congress activists, Mr Shetty has stopped using those 'offending" bills.
He alleges that on Monday, some Congress youth workers who showed up for a meal failed to see the humour and allegedly forced Mr Shetty to close down the restaurant. They also filed a defamation complaint with the local police.
Mumbai Youth Congress Chief Ganesh Kumar Yadav claimed: "We did not shut down the restaurant - just took legal action. We protested peacefully."
The "peaceful protests" ended when the owner apologised.
Customers who flocked to the restaurant today got new bills without the comment that caused so much trouble to the owner.
"It is plain intolerance," said a customer, "Everyone has the right to personal opinion - they could have asked the owner to just remove the comment instead of ransacking the place."
But another customer said the owner should not have been forced to remove the comment. "What about freedom of speech?" she asked.
Stop mocking government: Congress workers target Mumbai restaurant | NDTV.com
Aditi Pure Veg Restaurant in the central part of the city- was open for business today, drawing larger than usual crowds after news of its ordeal went viral. For much of the day, it was trending on Twitter as #AditiRestaurant.
"Height of intolerance!" tweeted senior BJP leader Narendra Modi.
In March, the owner Srinivas Shetty added this cheeky one-liner to the bills for customers: "As per UPA government, eating money (2G, Coal, CWG scam) is a necessity and eating food in an AC restaurant is a luxury."
But succumbing to pressure from the Congress activists, Mr Shetty has stopped using those 'offending" bills.
He alleges that on Monday, some Congress youth workers who showed up for a meal failed to see the humour and allegedly forced Mr Shetty to close down the restaurant. They also filed a defamation complaint with the local police.
Mumbai Youth Congress Chief Ganesh Kumar Yadav claimed: "We did not shut down the restaurant - just took legal action. We protested peacefully."
The "peaceful protests" ended when the owner apologised.
Customers who flocked to the restaurant today got new bills without the comment that caused so much trouble to the owner.
"It is plain intolerance," said a customer, "Everyone has the right to personal opinion - they could have asked the owner to just remove the comment instead of ransacking the place."
But another customer said the owner should not have been forced to remove the comment. "What about freedom of speech?" she asked.
Stop mocking government: Congress workers target Mumbai restaurant | NDTV.com