McDonald's row: When will 'Acche Din' come for the poor, asks Sena

Mumbai: Amid controversy over a street child being thrown out of a McDonald’s restaurant in Pune, the Shiv Sena, which is a part of BJP-led government in Maharashtra, today wondered as to when will Acche Din (good days) arrive for the poor in the country.

“This (Mc Donalds) incident depicts the gap between the rich and the poor in this country. Discussions on such incidents will continue, but mere discussions will not solve the problem of the poor children,” the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece ?Saamana.?

“We will continue to find poor children standing on roads, below flyovers, near signals on railway stations and outside restaurants with hands on their stomach. What will happen to these children? When will Acche Din (good days) really come for them,” it asked, referring to BJP’s election slogan.

The Sena alleged that politicians for selfish gains refused to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor as a result of which the destitute continues to suffer humiliation at the hands of the elite.

“There is no law that prohibits a street child from entering an expensive restaurant. But such restaurants are not made for the poor, which is why the underprivileged need to satisfy their hunger by eating cheap food items like ?vada paav?,” the Sena said.

“In the case of the Pune restaurant, the child did not have money to buy food in McDonald’s. But there was someone willing to pay money to buy happiness for that child. But the restaurant threw him out stating that their outlet is not meant for such (poor) people. This shows the prevailing divide between the two classes in the society,” the Sena added.

McDonald’s India, in a statement said that it is “internally” probing the episode even as the restaurant management suspended the security personnel involved in the incident.

According to media reports, a street child was thrown out of the restaurant in Pune by a staff member on January 10, after allegedly saying that “these kind of people are not allowed here”.

PTI