PM joins MPs for lunch in House canteen

Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised MPs on Monday when he walked into Parliament canteen to have lunch.

Modi walked in to the canteen, run by the Railways in room no 70, around 1:00 pm and joined fellow BJP leaders Chhedi Paswan and Shankarbhai Vegad, who were chatting at a table.

The canteen staff, led by supervisor B L Purohit, were taken by surprise to have the prime minister in their midst. “Anything special, sir,” Purohit asked the prime minister.
“Serve whatever you have. There is no need to make any special arrangement,” Modi told Purohit.

After having a few sips of water, Modi ate some freshly cut fruit. He was later served vegetarian meals comprising sarson ka saag, aaloo-rajma, rice, daal, roti and curd.
Sources said Paswan, who is from Bihar, was initially very nervous to share the table with the prime minister but was at ease later. Vegad, who is from Gujarat, seemed comfortable. Power Minister Piyush Goyal joined the table later.

Modi spent about 25 minutes eating and chatting with the 20 to 25 MPs who were present in the canteen.

The lunch cost Modi Rs 29. The canteen personnel were reluctant to charge the prime minister, but Modi insisted on making the payment. Sources said Modi handed over a 100 rupee note to the canteen staff who promptly returned the balance Rs 71.

As Modi prepared to leave the canteen, Purohit furnished the Vistor’s Book for the prime minister to write down his comments. “Anna data sukhi bhava,” Modi wrote in Gujarati.

This was perhaps for the first time in recent years that a prime minister has had lunch at the MPs canteen. “I have never seen any prime minister come here for lunch,” said a member of the canteen staff who has been working in Parliament for the last 13 years.