Maharashtra: MLA hostel canteen licence suspended after Shiv Sena MLA assaults staff over ‘stale food'
'….the license granted to your establishment from date 26-06-2024 to legal validity date 27-09-2027 is being suspended with immediate effect. You are further informed that during the license suspension period mentioned in the attached order, you or anyone on your behalf should not buy, sell or distribute food items, if found doing so, you should note that legal action will be taken against you for selling/distributing food items without a valid license as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and the rules/regulations there under,'the order issued on Wednesday by the FDA said.
As a purported video of the assault by Gaikwad surfaced on social media, Gaikwad came under the fire by the the Opposition leader as they raised the matter in the Legislative Council and sought his suspension.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Gaikwad's behaviour had tarnished the image of the Legislature, and the Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council Chairman should decide on action against him. Saying that elected representatives should behave 'responsibly', Gaikwad's party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he had reprimanded the MLA.
Meet Shah Sena's MLA Sanjay Gaikwad. Last year he had threatened&announced 11 lakh rupees to anyone who cuts off Sh. Rahul Gandhi's tongue. Now the man is seen beating up a poor helpless canteen worker. But wait no news TV outrage here since its a BJP ally pic.twitter.com/XVwnEzJFSU
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) July 9, 2025
In the purported video clip of the incident, Gaikwad, wearing a towel and a vest, is seen confronting the canteen staff over what he claimed was sour dal and spoiled rice. He then repeatedly assaults a canteen employee and tells others not to pay their bills. His supporters, too, are seen assaulting the canteen workers.
No police complaint was filed till evening. However the FDA was immediately swing into the action and conducted the inspection at the canteen.
The slueth of FDA collected samples of food from the MLAs' Hostel canteen and sent them for testing. 'The team collected samples of food like paneer, sauces and dal. These will be sent to the laboratory; the reports are expected in 14 days,' an FDA official said.
However soonafter that, the FDA issued a suspension order to the Ajanta Caterer, the private contractor who runs the canteen under the supervision of the Legislature Secretariat.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Gaikwad claimed that was served stale food in his room. He said he had complained about the quality of food earlier, but no action was taken. 'If such food is being served to an MLA, imagine what the common man must be getting,' said the MLA, who represents Buldhana Assembly constituency.
'I have no regrets over what I did. I am a public representative… when someone fails to understand democratic language, then I have to use this language. I had complained to the authorities on several occasions. I don't regret it and I will repeat it if needed,' he said.
'I had complained about the poor quality of food two or three times. This time, the food was absolutely unacceptable… completely spoiled. I will raise this issue in the ongoing Legislative session,' he said. He also met Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar to complain about the quality of food.
'People from all across the state come here; workers and officials come here to eat. The quality of food should be good here as it is a government canteen,' Gaikwad said.
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