WE DON’T SELL CARS TO SWAMIJIS

Article published on May 14, 2009

WE DON’T SELL CARS TO SWAMIJIS

That’s how a sales executive at a car showroom on Queen’s Road allegedly fobbed off Neelam Maharaj who wanted to buy a white Maruti Swift. The outraged swamiji has now complained to the governor

ATUL CHATURVEDI



Appearances can be deceptive, but try saying that to a salesman. Especially a car salesman. For them, the first impression is often the only impression, something that a swamiji, not unduly bothered about how he looked, learnt to his deep chagrin.
On Tuesday evening at a car showroom on Queen’s Road, P Neelam Reddy Maharaj, a swamiji belonging to the Reddy Samaja, who went to purchase a brand new Maruti Swift car, was treated shabbily by a sales executive and had to bear the ignominy of being labelled a ‘fraud’. Not one to give up so easily, on Wednesday Maharaj went to Raj Bhavan to complain to Governor Rameshwar Thakur about the humiliation meted out to him.
“I hail from Bemkhad village in Bidar district. I have formed a Suvarana Vishwa Bharat Ashram in Bidar and I wanted a white colour Swift for swamijis of our communities to move around. Wanting to pick up one such car, I visited Pratham Motors showroom, but the response I got was not great,” Maharaj told Bangalore Mirror.
LEADS TO TIFF
Maharaj sports a thick beard and wears a garish turban, not something that might inspire immediate trust in polite society. At the showroom, Suresh R, a salesman, attended to him and briefed him about the various car models that were available. Maharaj, however, wanted a white petrol car, a model that was not available then in the showroom. “I told them I am ready to pay up to Rs 15 lakh, I also told them that the car needed to be modified to suit my taste.”
“But they were not convinced. At one point, the sales executive lost his cool,” Maharaj said. In the argument that broke out, the executive snapped: “You people are frauds, you print fake currency notes. We don’t sell cars to swamijis.”
COMPLAINT TO GUV
That comment irked Maharaj. He protested, but to no avail. On Wednesday morning, Maharaj reached Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor, but was not allowed inside by security personnel. Later, he was asked to give a representation to the Governor’s office, which he did. “It was ridiculous that the salesman refused to entertain my demand and called me a fraud. Do I look like a fraud? Or don’t I have the right to purchase a car? Now I want justice and I have approached the Governor to intervene in the matter,” Maharaj said. The complaint has left Raj Bhavan officials perplexed. “This is the first time that I am seeing a person with such a grievance. I don’t know how to react,” said a security official.
SALESMAN’S VERSION
Bangalore Mirror tried ascertaining the authenticity of Maharaj’s claim by calling up sales executive Suresh whose visiting card was with Maharaj. Suresh admitted that Maharaj had come to the showroom on Tuesday evening, but did not appear to be serious about making a purchase. “He enquired with me about the availability of various models. I gave him all the details and he went away. He didn’t even ask me about the white colour car and there was no issue of calling him a fraud. If a white colour car is available, we give it or else a customer has to wait for three weeks for delivery,” Suresh said. He added that the showroom does not discriminate among buyers on the basis of their appearance.