Delhi CM intervenes to lift curbs on ethnic wear at Pitampura restaurant
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday intervened in the matter of a north Delhi restaurant denying entry to a guest in traditional Indian wear on the grounds of not following the outlet’s ‘western dress’ code.
As the news of Pitampura-based eatery’s action reached Assembly premises, BJP’s Jangpura legislator Tarvinder Singh Marwah sought action against those who disrespected Indian ethnic clothes.
Marwah told IANS, “Whoever has done this must be punished according to the law. A salwar kameez is an Indian dress. No restaurant can refuse entry to guests for wearing it.”
After CM Gupta intervened and ensured that the restaurant lifted its dress code, she took to X to signal that all was well now.
“The operators of this Pitampura restaurant have accepted that they will no longer impose any restrictions based on attire and will welcome citizens coming in Indian attire. On Raksha Bandhan, they will also offer some discounts to sisters coming in Indian attire,” said the CM in a post, along with a smiley.
Her post on X was retweeted by Delhi Art & Culture and Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra, along with short videos of the owners of the restaurant in which they could be heard clarifying about the “misunderstanding” that inconvenienced a couple on August 3.
In one such video, Neeraj Aggarwal, director of the restaurant, said, “All guests in all dress code are welcome to our outlet. I invite people – whether from North India or South India – to our family restaurant and enjoy.”
The clarification came after the CM took note of the couple’s video on social media voicing their pain over the restaurant at the Metro Station stopping them from entering the premises.
“My wife was stopped at the entry gate while another guest in a mini skirt was allowed to enter,” complained the middle-aged man in the video.
Earlier, reacting to a social media post by the couple complaining against the restaurant, Mishra said on X, “This is unacceptable in Delhi… CM @gupta_rekha ji has taken serious note of the incident. Officials have been directed to investigate the incident and take immediate action.”