Mumbai, April 20 -- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) Sanjeev Jaiswal's threat during a public meeting to check the identity documents of a man sporting a beard and his reference to the man as a 'ghuskhor' or bribe-taker has evoked sharp reactions from politicians across the ruling and opposition parties. The Mhada CEO made the comments during a public meeting at the Ganesh ground in Motilal Nagar 1 on April 17. The meeting, which HT attended, was focussed on unveiling the master plan for the redevelopment of Motilal Nagar, and many from the 3,702 families which are eligible for rehabilitation homes were seated in the audience. As soon as Jaiswal announced that residents would get 1,600-square feet (sqft) RERA carpet area homes instead of homes with 1,600 sqft built-up area, as planned earlier, the audience erupted in protest, saying they wanted 2,400-sqft homes. Many stood up repeatedly from their seats, in a bid to speak out aloud about their demands, making Jaiswal lose his calm on several occasions. At one point, when one of the attendees stood up to speak, Jaiswal reprimanded him, saying he hadn't been brought up well in his childhood or taught discipline. He also threatened to cancel the tender for the redevelopment project. Later, Jaiswal attacked another Motilal Nagar 1 resident who was standing up with a placard saying no to 1,600-sqft rehabilitation homes. "Whatever you want to say, say it in Marathi," Jaiswal told him. When the man smilingly replied that he wouldn't be able to speak in Marathi, Jaiswal asked, "Do you really not know Marathi?" He then launched into a tirade, wondering if the man was a 'ghuskhor' and asking police officials to seize his identity cards. Videos of the altercation circulating on social media show Jaiswal addressing the man, saying, "Hand over your I-card. Let me find out about you. Where you came from? Which year you came in? Whether you were born here or not. Let me find out all of that. If you turn out to be a ghuskhor, I will pick you up from here itself." Nilesh Prabhu, joint secretary of the Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti condemned Jaiswal's comments and tried to file a criminal complaint against him. But Suryakant Kharat, senior inspector at the Goregaon police station, declined to file an FIR in the absence of a written complaint. BJP leader and legislator Pravin Darekar said the officer should tender an apology. "Bureaucrats should refrain from such types of acts. Jaiswal is not a master, but a bureaucrat who is expected to work in public interest. He should apologise before the people of Motilal Nagar," Darekar said. Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant accused bureaucrats of toeing the government line in targeting a section of the society, referring to the BJP's alleged use of the infiltrator tag to target Muslims in poll-bound states such as West Bengal. "Jaiswal should work and speak in the interest of the people and not the developer of the project. He can't act like a king," Sawant said. Jaiswal didn't respond to HT's request for comments....