Kanwar Yatra: Eateries told to display names of owners, Opposition fumes at govt 'diktat'

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) A major controversy has erupted over the Muzaffarnagar administration's directive to all the eateries and shops along the Yatra route, to properly display the names of owners to avoid "confusion" among the Kanwar Yatris. 

The government's directive to the food stalls and dhabas has riled up the Opposition parties, as some of them equated it to "apartheid" while others demanded "judicial intervention" to set aside the "lopsided" order.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said that such orders would vitiate the peaceful atmosphere and asked, "What will be known from the name of the one whose name is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fatte?"

SP chief, who rode his party to its best-ever performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls 2024, smelled a "conspiracy" against a particular community and demanded the courts take suo motu cognisance of this order.

"Honourable court should take suo motu cognisance and investigate the intentions of the government behind such administrative order and take appropriate punitive action. Such orders are social crimes, which want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of harmony," he said on social media platform X.

Earlier, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi voiced his anger at the "discriminatory" order and said that this was like "apartheid" (institutionalised racial segregation) in South Africa and 'Judenboycott' (the boycott of Jewish businesses) in Hitler's Germany.

In an X post, the AIMIM leader wrote, "As per the order of Uttar Pradesh Police, every food shop or cart owner will have to put his name outside the building so that no Kanwariya buys anything from a Muslim shop by mistake. This was like Apartheid in South Africa. In Hitler's Germany, it was called 'Judenboycott'."

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera slammed the Muzaffarnagar police for such diktat and termed it "state-sponsored bigotry".

Taking to X, Khera wrote, "Not just political parties, all right-thinking people and the media must rise against this state-sponsored bigotry. We cannot allow the BJP to push the country back into dark ages."

Notably, the Muzaffarnagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) passed the order and said that these arrangements were made for the month of Shravan and such measures will only add to the comfort and convenience of Kanwar Yatris. He added that the shop owners are following it voluntarily.

About 240 km of the Kanwar Yatra route falls in the Muzaffarnagar district. As per the order, all the eateries including hotels, dhabas and carts, on the Yatra route will have to display the names of proprietors or those working in these shops.

"This has been done to ensure that there should be no confusion among kanwariyas and no law and order situation arises. All are following this voluntarily," he had told reporters on Monday.

Also, the liquor and meat shops will remain closed during the month-long Kanwar Yatra. Officials have also been instructed to prevent stray animals from obstructing the path of Kanwar Yatris.

For the unversed, the Kanwar Yatra this year, will begin from July 22, the day when Shravan month begins. The month-long festival will see people from Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan visiting Haridwar and Rishikesh to collect water from the Ganga river and then offer the same in Lord Shiva temples, on returning home.