Indian lawmaker force-feeds Muslim man in Ramadan

A right-wing Hindu lawmaker in India has been videotaped while allegedly trying to force-feed a Muslim man during the fasting month of Ramadan.

India’s parliament burst into a fury on Wednesday as opposition Congress MPs protested the force-feeding of a Muslim man by Hindu lawmaker Rajan Baburao Vichare.

“It is absolutely reprehensible and should be condemned in the strongest possible manner,” said Congress party spokesman, Manish Tewari.

The television footage showed a group of furious lawmakers from the nationalist Shiv Sena party confronting a catering supervisor in New Delhi on July 17.

Vichare was caught pushing bread several times into the supervisor’s mouth as a crowd started to swarm.

Meanwhile, the company manager says the supervisor is deeply hurt over the incident as “religious sentiments are attached.”

Last week, Shiv Sena lawmakers were filmed throwing kitchen items and physically threatening the kitchen and service staff at the guesthouse.

Shiv Sena, a key ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, is infamous for creating a history of intimidation and unrest against minorities.

Experts say the latest incident is likely to raise concern among religious minorities, including Muslims, over Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.