Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday reprimanded party legislator Sanjay Gaikwad for beating MLA hostel canteen staff, accusing him of serving stale food.

Taking serious note of this matter, Shinde gave a strong warning not to indulge in such incidents again, saying that as a public representative, he (Gaikwad) could have filed a formal complaint and resorted to beating the canteen staff.

He clarified that he will not defend the assault by the party legislator Gaikwad.

“The beating done by Sanjay Gaikwad is not justifiable. As a public representative, he could have opted for taking legal action against the canteen staff by filing a regular complaint about the quality of the food, but beating him cannot be an option,” said Shinde.

He reiterated that Sanjay Gaikwad has been admonished, saying it is not right to beat someone. “The party will not support it.”

Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the state council said Shiv Sena legislator Sanjay Gaikwad’s assault on the MLA hostel canteen staff was not proper.

He said that the chairman of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly should decide on taking action against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who assaulted an employee in the canteen of the MLA hostel.

He reiterated that the behaviour of Gaikwad was not dignified and was tarnishing the image of the legislature.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab had raised the issue in the Legislative Council. “A senior MLA in the government comes in a vest and a towel and beats up an employee. Are there any directions on how legislators should behave? Are these people coming directly from the street? What was the crime of that employee? This is tarnishing the image of your government,” said Parab.

He demanded to know what action should be taken. “Will you take the support of such people, and will you run the government with the support of such people?” Parab asked the Chief Minister.

“MLA hostel comes under the purview of the legislature. If I beat up someone in the legislature, you will suspend me, so send a message to the people that we will not tolerate this by suspending this legislator,” Parab demanded.

The Chief Minister said that if the food was not good, then you could complain about it. “But beating like this and its video coming out affects our image. This sends the wrong message to the people. It is not right for you (MLA Gaikwad) to behave like this in front of the people as an MLA. The chairman and the Assembly Speaker should take note of this and decide what action to take on this,” he added.

–IANS

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