Maharashtra FDA Chief Tukaram Mundhe is receiving widespread appreciation from citizens across the country for one thing: doing his job. Mundhe notes that his role is to ensure food safety and protect the health of everyone consuming food in Maharashtra. While crowds now greet him with standing ovations and celebrity-like attention, he may not be a favorite among several food business operators who have lost their licenses following food safety raids.
In a round-table interview with NDTV Profit, Mundhe was asked if there had been any attempt so far to bribe him.
“I don't think anyone would dare with me,” he said clearly.
“If somebody is thinking of that, they'd better think 100 times,” the Maharashtra FDA Commissioner added.
Talking about his personality, he said many people have accused him of being “arrogant” or of not listening to others.
Sharing his philosophy on any role he is placed in, he said: “Are we honest and transparent about what we are expected to do and what we have done? If it succeeds, nothing like it. If not, at least I have tried.”
When he was called an inspiration, Mundhe said he is just doing his job.
“I don't think it is really inspirational or that I have done something extraordinary. I believe that I am just trying to do what is expected of my role, nothing less than that, nothing more than that,” he said.
“If all of us perform the roles that are expected of us, I think we can be a really great society,” Mundhe added.
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He also noted that his personality would not be suitable for a career in politics.
“A person like me, who is very forthright and upright, I don't think he or she will be accepted in politics,” he said, adding, “Many people call me arrogant, not because I am arrogant but because I am forthright. There is a very, very thin line between being forthright and being arrogant.”
The senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer said this trait was not something he had cultivated for effect. “That's my nature. It's not something artificial,” he said in the interview.