State govt doesn't want Maha Sadan incident to blow up

Maharashtra government was concerned over the incident at New Maharashtra Sadan where a Shiv Sena MP was caught on video forcing a fasting Muslim employee to eat a chapati, but did not want it to acquire a communal colour in "an election year", a senior minister said.
The Parliament secretariat had asked the state government for a report on the incident, and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had directed the Chief Secretary J S Saharia to respond immediately, a senior minister told PTI here.
"In an election year, we cannot afford to allow such incidents getting communal colour, and the Chief Minister has asked for the matter to be resolved at the earliest," said the minister, who did not wish to be named.

The issue was not discussed at today's cabinet meeting but general view was that the matter should end at the earliest, he said.
The incident, which took place last week as Sena MPs were protesting quality of food at New Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, sparked outrage and uproar in the Parliament today.