By Hamza Khan
Hours after the BJP stormed to power in Rajasthan, a first-time BJP MLA hit the headlines.
In videos that went viral, Hawal Mahal MLA Sanjay Sharma, better known as Balmukundacharya, was seen talking to local officials about alleged encroachment by non-vegetarian restaurants in parts of Jaipur’s old city, questioning if they could sell in the open and whether they had a licence.
Among other videos, which subsequently emerged, was one outside the Old M M Khan Hotel, one of the more popular eateries in Jaipur. An infuriated Balmukundacharya could be seen telling the restaurant manager that women cannot pass by and the “sharabi kebabi (drunk and characterless)” persons who throng there spoil the atmosphere. He says this is “Apara Kashi, not Karachi” and then some around him indulge in chants of “Jai Shri Ram”.
It is another story that he apologised the next day and said he had merely raised the issues as a common citizen. Jaipur Municipal Corporation (Heritage) Additional Commissioner, Kartar Singh, says under the JMC heritage limits, there are 115 restaurants serving non-vegetarian food with a licence, while 150 others do not have a licence. “We are issuing them a notice to get the licence, else they will have to be shut down,” Singh says.
Talking to The Indian Express, Balmukundacharya, 47, says the issue he raised was valid but it was perceived “in a wrong way”. “Rules say that meat should be cut in factories and then distributed. But here, there are unlicensed shops all around, leading to diseases. Now after I raised it, there is a queue of people seeking a licence. Where were these people for five years?”
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here .
