Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, mandated on Friday that restaurants along the Kanwar Yatra route throughout the state display the names of their proprietors.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, ordered on Friday that the names of the owners of every restaurant along the Kanwar Yatra route be posted. This move came after the Muzaffarnagar Police reversed a similar directive in response to criticism.
The new rule mandates that the owner of every food cart or shop must put their name on a board and display it clearly.
Leaders of the opposition and the ruling NDA have expressed disapproval of the Muzaffarnagar police’s directive, which demanded that restaurants along the Kanwar Yatra route disclose the names of their proprietors.
Former Union minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has again criticized the recommendation, claiming that this action will lead to untouchability. “Some overly enthusiastic authorities’ harsh directives could be the source of the untouchability epidemic… Naqvi posted on X (formerly Twitter) that while faith must be honored, untouchability must not be patronized.
Despite the fact that several BJP leaders were in favor of the decision, Naqvi uploaded a picture of himself taking part in the Kanwar Yatra and claimed he didn’t need any lectures about respect and faith in it.
The Muzaffarnagar Police order should be revoked, according to KC Tyagi, national spokesman of Janata Dal (United), a significant BJP partner at the Centre, because it may incite communal strife and there shouldn’t be any religious discrimination.
The Muzaffarnagar government changed its order on Thursday to indicate that people can choose to voluntarily display the names of the proprietors on their eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in response to complaints from a number of parties.
But Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, intensified it again on Friday. He enacted a law requiring food carts and restaurants on the Kanwar Yatra route throughout the state to display the names of their owners.
Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM and a Lok Sabha MP, had already attacked Yogi Adityanath, claiming he was haunted by “Hitler’s soul.” He claimed that untouchability was being promoted by the Uttar Pradesh administration.
“We denounce this decree because it contravenes Article 17, which forbids untouchability, in the Indian Constitution. The administration of Uttar Pradesh is advocating for untouchability. Articles 21 (right to life) and 19 (right to livelihood) are violated by this directive, which requires the display of a person’s name and religion, Owaisi told ANI.
The opposition INDIA bloc’s Samajwadi Party was the first to criticize the directive. It was described as “a social crime aimed at dividing society” by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in a post on X.
He had called on the courts to investigate and determine “the bottom of the intent.”
