Was Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda served sub-standard dal and raita for lunch during his recent visit to Rewari? Following a complaint by Hoodas personal staff,Rewari Deputy Commisioner A Sreenivas ordered an inquiry into the matter and found that both the food items were withdrawn from the lunch menu at the last minute.The incident occurred on November 18,when Hooda was in Rewari to announce a slew of development programmes for the area. Rewari is represented in the Assembly by Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav. The lunch had been organised by the management committee of the Krishan Lal Public College,Rewari. We conducted an immediate inquiry into the matter, confirmed Sreenivas.It is customary for all food items to be tasted before they are served to the CM. Samples are also sent to the laboratory by a team headed by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the area. Sources said it was the CID team which pointed out that the dal and raita were not fit for consumption. When contacted,Rewari CMO Dr Hariram Yadav said all the food items were tasted by District Health Officer Dr A P S Sodhi and Food Inspector D Narayan Dutt Sharma. It was found that the dal was not cooked properly while the fruits in the raita were too ripe.We immediately withdrew the two items from the CMs menu and the matter ended there, said Dr Yadav. There was no way that the dal or raita could have been served to the CM as we taste each and every item,make a list and hand it over to the CID before the food is served to him, said Dr Sodhi.The State Director General,Health Services,Dr Narbir Singh,said the health officials are very cautious about the food served to the CM. However,Rajan Gupta,Secretary,Food and Supplies,said he was unaware of any such incident.
