The Uttar Pradesh government order that all roadside eateries to display the “name and identity” of their owners along the Kanwar Yatra route across the state has sparked widespread uproar.
The decision was said to be taken to maintain the “purity” of the faith of Kanwar pilgrims. The action will also be taken against those selling productions with Halal certifications.
Earlier, the Muzaffarnagar Police had ordered all eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners to avoid any “confusion”. A day later, the Yogi Adityanath government ordered the same across the state.
BJP allies JD(U) and RLD, along with senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, joined Opposition parties in questioning a police order in Muzaffarnagar. The order was said to be following a demands from the local BJP MLA and a prominent Hindu seer.
Defending the initial police order, State Minister Kapil Dev Aggarwal said that there are shops along the Kanwar Yatra routes where non-veg food is sold on the shops containing the names of Hindu deities, which are run “mostly from Muslim community”. He also said that it is a matter of social harmony and the Opposition is giving it a “Hindu-Muslim” spin.
JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said that the Kanwar Yatra takes place across various states, including Bihar, UP, and Rajasthan, without communal issues. He pointed out that communal harmony could suffer from such directives and noted that Muslim artisans are also involved in the yatra preparations.
RLD spokesperson Anil Dubey also questioned the need for such a directive, stating that while security arrangements are essential, the administration should not mandate name displays on shops.
Former Union Minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took to social media to criticise the hasty order, warning that it could promote untouchability. He asserted that faith should be respected without fostering social divides.
After the uproar, the Muzaffarnagar administration’s revised advisory urged shop owners to voluntarily display their names, citing past instances where food sellers’ misleading shop names caused confusion among devotees, leading to law and order issues.
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai called the government’s move “impractical” and asked it to withdraw immediately. “This is absolutely impractical. They are trying to impair the sense of brotherhood in society, trying to create distance among people. This should be cancelled immediately,” he said.
Former Samajwadi Party MP Dr. ST Hasan alleged that the government is attempting to give a “boycott Muslim” call to the Hindus which will create a gap between the two communities.