Call for sacking of Indian-origin chef in UAE after 'anti-Islam' tweet

Agencies
June 12, 2018

Dubai, Jun 13: A popular Indian-origin chef in the United Arab Emirates has landed in a controversy after he allegedly posted an anti-Islam tweet, triggering calls for his sacking, a media report said on Tuesday.

Atul Kochhar, a Michelin-Star chef well known here for his Rang Mahal Indian restaurant at the JW Marriott Marquis hotel, received flak after taking a dig at Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra for her tweet over an episode in American television series 'Quantico' that purportedly portrayed Hindu nationalists as terrorists, the Khaleej Times reported.

"It's sad to see that you (Priyanka) have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorized by Islam over 2000 years. Shame on You (sic)," Kochhar tweeted. He later deleted the tweet and apologised for the "major error" that was "made in the heat of the moment on Sunday", the paper said.

"There is no justification for my tweet ... I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many," Kochhar tweeted yesterday.

The anti-Islam tweet created a furore on social media, with twitterati calling for firing the chef. Popular commentator and Arab journalist Khaled Almaeena tweeted: "You (Kochhar) have offended me..As a person who loves India its people no matter what their caste or creed. As a secular and liberal, it truly is a horror statement."

Some said they would boycott the restaurant. "Chef celebrity showed his true colours. I won't eat here after reading the racist tweets by the head chef," a UAE resident posted on his Facebook page.

"I have cancelled my wedding anniversary meal for next month at your restaurant. You knew exactly what you meant as you tweeted that message," another Twitter user added.

JW Marriot hotel, however, distanced itself from the chef's comments. "We are aware of the comments made by Chef Atul Kochhar. We would like to stress that we do not share the same views as stated in the remark, nor is it a representation of the culture of diversity and inclusion that we pride ourselves on at the hotel," the hotel tweeted yesterday.

Comments

Muslim
 - 
Wednesday, 13 Jun 2018

kick him out of UAE....he eats muslim money and bashes islam.. coward

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, their first meeting after the assembly polls in the national capital.

The meeting went on for over 20 minutes at Shah's residence. The meeting was earlier scheduled at the Home Ministry.

"Met Hon'ble Home Minister Sh Amit Shah ji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted.

Shah had led the BJP offensive against Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly polls in which AAP trounced the saffron party, bagging 62 of the 70 seats.

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News Network
March 11,2020

New Delhi, Mar 11: According to the Union health ministry, there are 62 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and the Delhi government on a PIL seeking proper and adequate measures to combat coronavirus.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Ministry of Health and the Delhi government seeking their replies on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate.

The petition, by lawyer Triveni Potekar, seeks directions to the Centre and the Delhi government to make available important and relevant information on access to and availability of medical facilities for testing and treatment for the coronavirus disease.

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January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: JNU students who tried to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday protesting the violence on the university campus were stopped by police and later detained.

The police also resorted to baton charge to control the mob who tried to block the traffic at Janpath. Using loudspeakers, the police also appealed to the crowd to maintain peace.

Before the students tried to proceed towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a delegation of JNU Students' Union and JNU Teachers' Association also met Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry officials and demanded the removal of Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar from his post.

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