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Responding to a query on the police orders requiring eateries’ owners to display their names along the Kanwar Yatra route in certain Indian states, the US state department said it has seen the reports of the Supreme Court ordering a stay on the directives. A department spokesperson said that US remains committed to “protecting universal respect for the right of freedom of religion”.
“We have seen those reports. We have also seen the reports that the Indian Supreme Court on July 22nd issued an interim stay on the implementation of those rules,” said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller when asked about the police directives issued in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“Speaking generally, we are always committed to promoting and protecting universal respect for the right of freedom of religion and belief for all anywhere in the world. And we have engaged with our Indian counterparts on the importance of equal treatment for members of all religions,” he added.
The Supreme Court of India on July 22 issued an order prohibiting the enforcement of a public notice by the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district. This notice had directed hotels, eateries, and shops along the route of the Kanwar Yatra to display the names of their owners and employees. Similar directives had been issued by police in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh).
The Muzaffarnagar Police’s notice, issued on July 17, claimed that while no “religious discrimination” was intended, past incidents had shown that confusion arose among the Kanwariyas—who adhere to a strict vegetarian diet—when they encountered shops without clearly identified ownership.
The directive has faced significant backlash, with BJP allies JD(U) and RLD along with senior party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi joining the Opposition parties in questioning the order. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had criticized the orders, labeling them “social crimes” intended to disrupt peace and harmony.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand, and the former India head of Amnesty International Aakar Patel had challenged the direction in the Supreme Court on the ground that it targets Muslim-owned businesses by compelling individuals to reveal their religious identity.
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