Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today visited Aditi Hotel in Central Mumbai, which was forced to down its shutters by Youth Congress activists last month for carrying an anti-UPA government footnote on its cash bill.
"I have come here to express my solidarity with the hotel and the management, who bore the brunt of the attack by the Youth Congress workers," Swamy said.
"The bill footnote was a piece of satire and in no way should have provoked such a reaction," said the former Union minister, who also relished what he called "super vada sambar and super coffee" at the eatery in Parel.
Jagdish Shetty, National General Secretary, Janata Party, said Swamy's visit was a symbolic one to express his solidarity with hotelier Srinivas Shetty.
The trenchant message on the cash bill in protest of the imposition of service tax on AC restaurants read: As per UPA government, eating money (2G, Coal, CWG scam) is a necessity and eating food in an AC restaurant is a luxury.
Though the UPA government was involved in one scam after another that involved billions of rupees, the common man was burdened with taxes, Shetty said.
This visit was to express the anger and resentment of the common man against corruption in the UPA government, he said.
A group of Congress workers had staged a protest outside Aditi restaurant near KEM Hospital at Parel on July 22 and forced it to shut down over the postscript.
The news of the closure of the restaurant had generated massive outrage both online and off it. Among those who condemned the Congress actions was Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who tweeted that the incident was the "height of intolerance".
The incident had also figured in the monsoon session of state legislature, which ended yesterday.
Swamy was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mumbai in 1977 and 1980 and represented Mumbai North East constituency comprising suburbs of Chembur, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Vikhroli, Bhandup and Mulund.
