UP's hungry Assembly

Guess what the recent acrimonious scenes in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly were all about. Hard to believe but it was the poor quality of food served in the Assembly canteen. Complaining that legislators often went hungry owing to the sub-standard food, Samajwadi Party legislator Anoop Sanda urged the Speaker to ensure that the canteen management was improved. The matter was considered important enough for state food and civil supplies minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh (alias “Raja Bhaiyya”) to suggest that the canteen be upgraded to serve a “full menu” to legislators like the Parliament canteen, which served both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Perhaps the legislators think UP doesn’t have more urgent problems worth addressing.