?Shiv Sainiks forcefully shut down meat shops and non-veg serving restaurants in Gurgaon

A group of twenty men entered the KFC outlet of Gurgaon, Sector 14's main market forcefully and shouted orders to the staff to pull down the shutters.

The men were identified as the members of the local unit of the Shiv Sena, who were demanding that fast food joints and restaurants serving non-veg food, as well as meat shops, remain closed throughout the Navaratra and even every subsequent Tuesday.

It has also been reported that around 200 Shiv Sainiks went to markets of Old Gurgaon and forced around 500 meat shops and family restaurants selling non-veg to pull down their shutters.

Ritu Raj, who claims to be Shiv Sena's Gurgaon spokesperson, said, "Our drive was directed at meat shops initially, but later, we extended it to restaurants and fast food chains. Since most Hindus observe fast during these nine days and do not eat meat, we feel it would be a good gesture on part of these joints to stop their operations or at least pull non-veg off their menus."

An employee from the KFC in Sector 14 said, "Our management decided to close down at that time but we re-opened at about 5pm later that day. We didn't want any confrontation so did not protest. Hopefully, the administration will sort the matter out. We can't close the outlet for all nine days without orders from high up."

A staff-member at another KFC in Gurgaon says, "Our sale already dips during the Navratras. Incidents like these will drive more customers away. If we close down for nine days straight, that will mean massive losses for us."

The manager of a McDonald's outlet in Gurgaon, said, "After the KFC incident, and since we had also received the notice from these guys, we reported the matter to our seniors, who took it up with the authorities. We have been told that the matter will be sorted and we will not face any problems now."

Ritu Raj said, "We talked to the owners or management. They agreed with our demands and co-operated with us. We did not have to use force anywhere. It was done through consensus and we appreciate the spirit of our brother shopkeepers in support of our campaign."

He further added, "We want these restaurants and shops to be closed on every Tuesday as a mark of respect and social harmony. We will see to it that this is carried out across Gurgaon."

On the other hand, reports say that the Shiv Sena has distanced itself from these 'raids'. "There's no spokesperson by this name (Ritu Raj) in Shiv Sena. We didn't carry out any such drive in Gurugram," Harshal Pradhan, media advisor to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, was quoted as saying.