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State-owned hotel Palash Residency in Bhopal was deep in the red during Congress rule because it was open to politicians and assorted hangers-on as a freebie. The BJP restricted free access to its rooms and facilities when it came to power. Perhaps local Congress politicians were unaware of this. A little-known Congress MLA recently checked in and tried to hold a press conference gratis. When the hotel staff restricted him, he physically attacked them and threatened to file a case under the Prevention of Atrocities Act as an “insult” to the community to which he belonged. The management lodged a police complaint but, undeterred, the MLA declined to pay the bill at the end of his two-day stay. The controversy subsided only after a local Congress leader intervened.