Gujarat: Bajrang Dal Members Set On Fire 'Pakistani Food Fest' Banner Of Restaurant Amid 'Jai Shri Ram' Chants

Following the incident, a senior office-bearer of the restaurant claimed they had realised their "mistake", PTI reported. 

Bajrang Dal Members Set On Fire 'Pakistani Food Fest' Banner Of Restaurant In Gujarat. (Screengrab)

New Delhi: Activists of right-wing outfit Bajrang Dal set fire to a large banner promoting a "Pakistani cuisine festival" to be held at a restaurant in Gujarat on Monday.

Following the incident, a senior office-bearer of the restaurant claimed they had realised their "mistake", PTI reported.  The restaurant, 'Taste of India', had planned to organise the food festival between December 12-22.

The banner put up atop a building housing the restaurant was taken down and set blaze amid chants of "Jai Shri Ram"and "Har Har Mahadev".

सूरत में दुकान पर लगे पाकिस्तानी फूड फेस्टिवल नाम के पोस्टर को #बजरंगदल कार्यकर्ता द्वारा जलाया गया, टेस्ट ऑफ इंडिया नाम के रेस्टोरेंट में आयोजित किया गया था फेस्टिवल। देश विरोधी और आतंकवादी समर्थक का किसी भी तरह का कार्य बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जाएगा। @Bajrangdal_Guj @BajrangdalOrg pic.twitter.com/EoyhGpAMZQ

— Bajrang Dal Gujarat (@Bajrangdal_Guj) December 13, 2021

According to Deviprasad Dubey, president of the South Gujarat Bajrang Dal, activists removed the hoarding and burnt it because they were opposed to the event.

"We ensured that such a festival is not organised at that restaurant. No such festival will be tolerated. The restaurant has accepted its mistake," he was quoted by PTI in its report.

Sandeep Dawar of Sugar N Spice Restaurants, which runs Taste of India, said they would continue to offer Mughlai cuisine and remove the label "Pakistani" from the event since it offended the sentiments of some people.

"We will not use the word 'Pakistani' anymore in the food festival as it hurts the sentiments of some people. When we were using that word we felt that some people might not like it, but we did not know it would turn out like this...We are just serving cuisine which has nothing to do with Pakistan as such. The second name of Mughlai cuisine is Pakistani food," Dawar said.

However, no case was filed by the police in the case.

(With PTI Inputs)