LUCKNOW/DEHRADUN: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is extending the controversial order asking all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners’ names. Similar instructions are already in place in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.
The move has evoked strong reactions not only from opposition but also from the ruling BJP’s allies like Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Janata Dal (United) who slammed it, saying there should not be any discrimination based on religion.
A few days ago Muzaffarnagar district police in Uttar Pradesh had issued orders, requiring all eateries to display the names of their owners along the route of the Kanwar Yatra which evoked strong reaction from Opposition parties and some members of the ruling alliance, saying it targets Muslim traders.
A spokesperson of UP government said on Friday a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
In Dehradun, Uttarakhand CM Dhami said the decision was taken on July 12 at a meeting to review the preparations for the Kanwar Yatra.
In Muzaffarnagar through which Kanwariyas pass after fetching water from the Ganga river in Haridwar or Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, all hotels, dhabas and roadside eateries along the yatra route will have to display their owner’s names, addresses and mobile numbers. In Uttarakhand also similar instructions have been issued.
The Uttarakhand decision will mostly cover Haridwar but some ‘kanwariyas’ also visit Rishikesh, Neelkanth and Gangotri as part of the yatra which begins on July 22. Dhami said the purpose of the decision was not to target or put anyone in trouble. “Why should anyone have any problem in introducing themselves,” he asked
There have been criminal incidents at Har ki Pauri in Haridwar in the past when tension broke out over some hotel and dhaba operators hiding their true identities, Dhami said, adding that the decision was taken to prevent such situations.
Inspector General of Garhwal K S Nagnygal said the decision was taken to maintain social harmony during the Kanwar yatra. Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat justified the move, saying it will help the Shiva devotees choose where they want to eat.Senior Congress leader in Uttarakhand Harish Rawat said the decision taken by the Uttar Pradesh and the Uttarakhand governments was unfortunate and painful. “It will foment animosity between communities and bring disrepute to the country,” he said.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Muzaffarnagar police said earlier this week that its advisory to the eateries to display their owners’s names was aimed at avoiding any “confusion”.
“This has been done to ensure that there is no confusion among kanwariyas and no law-and-order situation arises. All are following this voluntarily,” district police chief Abhishek Singh had said.
Justifying the move, V K Mishra, in-charge of the weights and measures department of Meerut, said on Friday that as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, every restaurant and dhaba ‘sanchalak’ needed to display the name of the firm, the owner’s name and the licence number.The Muzaffarnagar police advisory drew criticism from several quarters. Union minister and BJP ally Chirag Paswan of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas Paswan) unequivocally opposed it and said he would “absolutely … never support or encourage” any divide in the name of caste or religion.
Another BJP ally, the Janata Dal (United), also criticised the advisory. Party leader KC Tyagi said the advisory should be withdrawn as it may cause communal tension and there should be no discrimination based on religion or caste. The Congress has alleged that the directive was intended to normalise the economic boycott of Muslims. Its spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order “state-sponsored bigotry”.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi compared the Muzaffarnagar police advisory to the Apartheid and Judenboykott, the boycott of Jewish businesses in Hitler’s Germany.
The BJP, which is in power at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, however, defended the measure, claiming that it gives fasting Hindus a choice should they want to eat at a pure-vegetarian restaurant where the likelihood of them being served ‘satvik’ food is higher. But senior BJP leader and former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi expressed apprehension that it might spread the “disease of untouchability”.
Both Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati hit out at the Muzaffarnagar police advisory. Yadav dubbed it a “social crime” and appealed to courts to take suo motu cognisance of the matter. with agency input