AS A directive requiring that eateries falling along the route of the upcoming Kanwar Yatra display the names of their owners, purportedly clarifying their religion, was adopted by other districts in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Uttarakhand, more NDA allies expressed their discomfort over the issue. At an interaction with editors of news agency PTI, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan said he doesn’t agree with the advisory, first issued by the Muzaffarnagar police. "It is every government's responsibility to work for the poor, which includes all sections of society such as Dalits, backwards, upper castes and Muslims as well," Paswan, a Union minister, said. "Whenever there is such a divide in the name of caste or religion, I absolutely do not either support it or encourage it. I do not think any educated young person of my age, irrespective of the caste or religion they come from, is affected by such things." The RLD, a BJP ally whose bastion is western UP, including Muzaffarnagar, said it will raise its objections with both the Central and state governments, of which it is a part. RLD national secretary Anupam Mishra told The Indian Express: “Firstly, our party’s stand is that if a decision is made which impacts a large section of the people, then the government should think it over. Secondly, the timing of this is wrong. As per food safety regulations, every eatery has to display its name, and the details of its products. If it (the police order) has to be implemented, then it should be divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian with red or green symbols, like it is on food packets… Our country has people from different communities and harmony must be maintained.” Mishra added: “We have a share in the UP government and our minister in the UP government will meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. We will raise this issue at the Centre and in the state.” The RLD had on Thursday told The Indian Express that it did not see the need for such a directive. The BJP, however, continued to defend the order, saying the same was in place last year. Former Union minister Sanjeev Balyan, who was an MP from Muzaffarnagar and lost the recent Lok Sabha polls from the seat, accused the Samajwadi Party of trying to stoke a communal divide. "The directive by the Muzaffarnagar police is nothing new as the same orders were in force last year too,” he said. Sangeet Som, the former BJP MLA from Sardhana in Meerut, also defended the advisory. "The devotees in the yatra have every right to know who is selling the food they are consuming. There have been numerous reports across the country and we have seen countless videos of those belonging to a particular community defiling food during weddings." Dhruv Kant Thakur, Additional DGP, Meerut Zone, said: “The order to display owners’ names on eateries and roadside carts was also implemented last year. The orders are meant to be complied with to ensure peace and law and order.” According to Thakur, even before they started strictly enforcing the directive, owners of eateries had started displaying the names of their owners prominently in districts like Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Baghpat. "Such a move is aimed at total transparency, so that the yatris don’t have any confusion,” said the ADGP. Following the criticism of its directive to eateries to display names of their owners, the Muzaffarnagar police had Thursday issued a revised order, saying this was voluntary. “During the holy month of Shravan, many people, especially Kanwariyas, abstain from certain food items,” the notice said. “In the past, certain instances have come to light where a few food sellers on the Kanwar Yatra route named their shops in such a way that created confusion among the yatris, leading to a law and order situation. To avoid the repetition of such a situation and keeping in mind the faith of the devotees, the owners and proprietors of the hotels, dhabas and other food item sellers along the route were requested to display the names of their owners and workers of their own will.” The notice added: “The intent of this order is not to create any religious differences but… only to facilitate the convenience of devotees… Such an order has also been prevalent in the past.” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Friday joined calls for the advisory to be withdrawn immediately and for action against the officials behind it. Saying everyone is equal under the law, she posted on X: "The divisive order in UP to put up name boards on kiosks, shops and carts is against the Constitution, our democracy and our shared heritage.” Ramashish Rai, the UP chief of the RLD, also called the directive seeking "an anti-Constitutional move”. “The government should withdraw it without delay,” Rai said. Congress MP from Saharanpur in western UP Imran Masood said such a directive would only spread hatred, and said that officers behind it should be dealt with an iron hand. SP Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik said such directives could again bring violence to a town which, he said, had a history of communal amity before the 2013 riots. Jamaiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Madani said that just as Dalits were once subjected to untouchability, there seemed to be an attempt to treat Muslims similarly. Warning against “far-reaching ramifications” of the move, Madani said: "It will empower forces that seek the economic boycott of Muslims and provide opportunities to anti-national elements to exploit the situation.” Pointing out that the areas through which the Kanwar Yatra passes have a significant Muslim population, he said: "Muslims have always respected the beliefs and practices of the Kanwariyas and have never caused them any harm.” The Kanwar Yatra will officially begin from July 22 and end on August 3.
