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Two days after LJP (Ram Vilas) leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan opposed the police order in Uttar Pradesh asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of their owners, another Union minister, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, on Sunday said the police move was unnecessary and the decision was “not taken after a lot of thought”. Kanwar yatris don’t check religion of people before accepting “sewa” from them, he said.
This came even as another BJP ally — Ajit Pawar’s NCP– joined the chorus against the police order and said it should be withdrawn.
Speaking to reporters after the all-party meeting, Chaudhary, who is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, said the decision to issue the order “was taken in a hurry and the government is now sticking to it”.
Asked about the order, Chaudhary said his party’s UP unit chief Ramashis Singh has already made the party stand clear against the police order.
“Woh koi mudda toh hain nahi. Humara jo stand hai iss issue pe uss par pradesh adhyaksh bol chuke hain. Poori party ka stand hai (It is not an issue. Our stand has been made clear by the state president. It is the stand of the entire party),” he said.
“Jo kanwar le kar jaate hain, unki sewa mein sabhi log lagte hain. Na toh kanwar le kar jaane waala vyakti koi pehchan karta hai. Jo sewadar hai unki ek ashirwad ki tarah prapt karte hain, aur aage chalte hai. Koi jaati ya dharam ki pehchan kar ke sewa nahi leta, aur na hi iss maamle ko dharam ya jaati se joda jana chahiye (Everyone is involved in service of those traveling with kanwar. The person carrying the kanwar doesn’t identify anyone. Those who serve them do it for their blessings. No one recognises caste and religion before accepting service and this issue should not be linked to caste and religion),” Chaudhary said.
“Sab pratishthan apna naam likhe. Maalik koi aur ho sakta hai, brand kuch aur sakta hai. Mcdonald kya likhega? Khatauli mein Burger King kya likhega? Purane brand hain, ek maalik nahi kayi maalik ho sakte hain (All establishments can write their name. The owner can be different and the brand can be different. What will McDonald’s write? What will Burger King in Khatauli write? There are old brands, and they can have multiple owners).”
“I feel the decision wasn’t taken after a lot of thought, and now that decision has been taken, they are sticking to it. This happens in government sometimes. There is still time, maybe it isn’t implemented very strictly. I am seeing pressure is not being put by administration,” Chaudhary said.
“As far as vegetarian and non-vegetarian is concerned, it makes sense. It should be clear that if food ingredients and process is vegetarian or not. How does it matter who makes it. There are vegetarian Muslims, and non-veg eating Hindus,” the RLD chief said.
On Friday, the RLD, whose bastion is western Uttar Pradesh, including Muzaffarnagar, had said it will raise its objections with both the Central and state governments, of which it is a part.
On Sunday, NCP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel joined NDA allies JD(U), RLD and LJP (Ram Vilas) in opposing the order to eateries, saying it should be withdrawn.
“These steps have been taken for the first time in view of Kanwar Yatra. It needs amendment. The UP government needs to take it back,” Patel after attending the all-party meeting.
On Friday, Union minister and RLD (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan had said he does not agree with the directive, first issued by police in Muzaffarnagar. “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,” he had said.
Inputs from ENS, Mumbai
