During his stay at the Khajuraho airport, the official was served with a notice seeking an explanation for serving cold and inferior quality tea to the chief minister.
After receiving backlash on social media, the Madhya Pradesh administration was forced to retract their notice asking for an explanation for giving Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan cold tea.
The incident took place during MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s brief stay at Khajuraho airport in the Chhatarpur district.
During his stay at the Khajuraho airport, the official was served with a notice seeking an explanation for serving cold and inferior quality tea to the chief minister.
According to Rajnagar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) DP Dwivedi, Junior Supply Officer Rakesh Kanhua, who was in charge of organizing tea and breakfast during the Chief Minister’s transit visit to the airport on Monday, received a show-cause notice.
However, Congress brought up the topic on social media and criticized the MP government, enquiring as to why there was such animosity directed towards a tea vendor.
The official was given three days to respond to the notice explaining why the CM received cold and poor-quality tea; otherwise, disciplinary action would be taken against him.
The administrative officers received the notice, according to Sub-Divisional Officer DP Dwivedi.
Sandeep GR, the district collector for Chhatarpur, revoked the notice after it sparked an outcry on social media.
Dwivedi clarified that the chief minister was not given the tea and breakfast that Kanhua had planned because he simply changed aircraft at the airstrip and did not stop at the airport.
Chouhan was on his way to Rewa for campaigning for the urban bodies polls.
“Kanhua was tasked with arranging tea and breakfast during the CM’s transit visit at the Khajuraho airport at 11.30 AM on Monday,” Dwivedi said.
“According to the menu, you were entrusted with the responsibility of arranging the tea and breakfast but the quality of the tea provided to the chief minister was inferior and it was served cold,” stated the notice issued by the SDM.
It was stated that this might put the district administration in an awkward situation and cast doubt on the process set up for VVIPs. Within three days, the SDM had asked the junior supply officer for an explanation.
The district collector issued an order stating that “the chief minister has made no comment on the protocol violation, therefore the show-cause notice issued to the junior supply officer in this regard has been canceled” as a result of the copy of the notice being widely shared on social media and drawing criticism.
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja took a dig, saying, “the people may even not get ration or not be able to get an ambulance, but the chief minister should not get cold tea”.
