Bengaluru: Newly-appointed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) mayor, Gangambike had convened a general meeting and had also arranged for food from Indira Canteen that was boycotted by the opposition leaders.

Indira Canteens were set up by the previous Congress government to provide food for poor people at low cost (as low as Rs 5 for breakfast and Rs 10 for lunch and dinner).

Following criticisms by media for ordering lavish food for BBMP members even for general meetings, the new mayor Gangambike ordered 500 plates of Indira Canteen food for the meeting on October  29. While the 150 of them including mayor and other members of ruling Congress and JD(S) relished the food, BJP members ordered food from a hotel.

BJP members alleged that there were complaints of sub-standard food being served at Indira Canteens for the poor. Thus, they did not want to eat that food. Attur ward member Nethra Pallavi spoke to media and said that the food is not up to the mark and that she will not touch it.

Substantiating this argument, there were reports of cockroach and other insects found in the food served at Indira Canteen, some months ago.  

Reacting to this, Congress member Shivaraju said that it was not fair to criticise food without tasting it. He said that he ate the food and it was good.

The menu:

Indira Canteen food included kheer, rice bath, horse gram side-dish, raitha, fritters, rice and samar, pickle and curd rice.

However, during the last meeting, lavish food was organised for the members that included salad, vegetable side-dish, tomato rice, puliyogere, brinjal rice, ragi balls, chapathi, rice and samar, curd rice, sweet, buttermilk, pickle, papad, etc.

This "spendthrift attitude" of BBMP was criticised by media. That is the reason why food was ordered from Indira Canteen.

Reacting to allegations of sub-standard food in Indira Canteen, Gangambike accepted that there are such allegations. So, the food was ordered from the same place to "verify" the allegation. We have eaten the food and it was good. So, there is no reason why anyone else should not eat this, she said.

However, at least 350 plates of food were wasted during the general meeting of the BBMP.

Are the members of the ruling government just defending their scheme or is the food really sub-standard?

VIDEO: Bengaluru administration may face contempt of court case for building ‘Indira Canteen’ in playground