Singhal denies row with hotel; AICC seeks report

The All Indian Congress Committee has asked the Delhi government to explain reports on a Delhi minister allegedly “harassing” the management of a prominent five-start hotel for stopping him for security check.

The All Indian Congress Committee has asked the Delhi government to explain reports on a Delhi minister allegedly “harassing” the management of a prominent five-start hotel for stopping him for security check.

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Senior Congress leaders said the party high command was miffed at Social Welfare and Labour Minister Mangat Ram Singhal’s “unsavoury display” of his ministerial powers.

“We have asked Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to give a detailed report about the incident. She expected to submit it three days,” the source said.

Sources in the Delhi government said members of a hotel body have also sought time from the chief minister to register a formal complaint.

Singhal allegedly entered into a row with security officials at Maurya Sheraton last Wednesday, following which he is reported to have ordered eight quality inspection raids at the hotel.

Sources in the Congress said Singhal had gone to the hotel on May 12 to attend a party thrown by a leading jeweller.

Singhal was riled when he was stopped for a security check and later allegedy set food inspectors upon the hotel for food safety raids.

He allegedly sent eight raiding teams— including those from labour, food and civil supplies and even the electrical department— which went about lifting samples from the hotel and even questioned the chefs to find faults and penalise the hotel authorities.

Singhal, however, said he hasn’t been to the Mauyra Sheraton where he is said to have picked up an argument in the last week, leave apart having argued with its security.

“You can check my programme schedule for the last week. In any case, I have been a minister for seven years and I am used to security checks,” Singhal told IANS.

But Singhal said such raids should are in any case not questionable since quality standard checks are being carried out throughout the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

“As the labour minister, I am in charge of checking the broilers, lifts and electrification at all hotels. These raids are perfectly normal,” he said.