NEW DELHI: India’s parliament erupted in anger on Wednesday after television footage showed a hardline Hindu nationalist lawmaker apparently trying to force-feed a fasting Muslim man worker.

Congress MPs launched raucous protests in the parliament, saying the lawmaker had violated the man’s religious beliefs by aggressively trying to shove a chapatti (piece of bread) in his mouth.

“It is absolutely reprehensible and should be condemned in the strongest possible manner,” Congress party spokesman Manish Tewari later told reporters. The lawmaker is from the hardline Hindu nationalist outfit Shiv Sena, a key ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.

The incident is likely to fan concern among Muslims and other religious minorities over Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The footage, aired on national television, showed a group of Shiv Sena lawmakers confronting a catering supervisor in New Delhi last week..

The lawmakers were complaining about the quality of food offered at a guest house for officials from the state of Maharashtra, where Shiv Sena is based.

Published in Dawn, July 24th , 2014