‘Our food chain’s name is inspired from Sanskrit word namo which means welcome,’ says Namo foods’ manager

A controversy has erupted on the very first day of the multi-phased 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It relates to saffron-coloured ‘Namo foods’ packets being distributed in Gautam Buddh Nagar. NaMo is often used as a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to DNA, some policemen on election duty in Noida were served meals in these packets. Officials told the paper that the food packets, brought in the boot of a hatchback car, were distributed around 9:30 am among personnel deployed in Sector 15A.

Newslaundry has found out that this food-distribution has no connection with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Namo food corner is a food chain which has five outlets in Noida and is owned by one Amit Singh, a Noida resident.
Speaking to Newslaundry, Sunil Anand, manager of Namo food corner food chain, said, “We received the order of 750 food packets of thali by the Noida police on Wednesday evening  (a day prior to polling day). We served good and economical food. Our one food packet costs up to ₹120 and as most of the outlets were closed today it was a good business for us. We delivered the order at 10 in the morning and then after two hours, I heard about this controversy on social media.”

When questioned about the name of the food chain, Anand said, “Namo doesn’t mean Narendra Modi every time, people don’t know the actual meaning of word Namo. Our food chain’s name, Namo, is inspired from Sanskrit word namo which means welcome, you can also see a logo of joint hands which indicates the gesture of welcoming.”

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer has asked for an incident report from the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar to check whether this incident violates the model code of conduct.