Kanwar yatra order Jamiat terms it 'communal' BJP MLA demands similar directive in MP

    New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments' directive to eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names drew more criticism Saturday with Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind slamming it as "discriminatory and communal" and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal wondering if this will lead to a Viksit Bharat even as a BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh demanded the state should enforce it too.
    Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, asserted he saw "nothing wrong" with this order, which has been disapproved of by fellow BJP allies like Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
    "What is the harm if people involved in businesses are asked to display their names and addresses prominently," he said in Patna.
    "In fact, such display only makes it easy for buyers to spot a favourite stall. It is wrong to view the episode through the prism of religion," he added.
    Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani said the order was part of a "new game of politics under the guise of religion".
    "This is a completely discriminatory and communal decision, and anti-national elements will get an opportunity to benefit from this," Madani said in a statement.
    There is fear of serious damage to communal harmony due to this new decree which violates the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution, he said.
    Madani said the Jamiat has called a meeting of its legal team on Sunday to discuss the legal aspects of this "unconstitutional and illegal" order.
    "This is not the first Kanwar yatra, it has been going on for years but never before has a citizen been forced to reveal his religious identity. Rather, during the yatra, it is seen that Muslims have been arranging water and langar for the Kanwar pilgrims," he said.
    Days after the Muzaffarnagar Police asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended the controversial order across the state. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place in his state as well.
    In a post on X, Sibal said, "Kanwar Yatra Route. UP directs eateries including roadside carts to display names of owners! Is this the route to a 'Viksit Bharat'?"
    "Divisive agendas will only divide the country!" the former Congress leader and Independent MP member said.
    Addressing a press conference here, he said the politics that is happening on Kanwar Yatra is not going to take India towards becoming 'Viksit Bharat'.
    "The prime minister, home minister and chief ministers should not raise such issues on which politics is done, that lead to controversies. The common person has nothing to do with these issues. What will happen is that the row will escalate, traders would suffer losses. Such issues will later be raised in the Parliament and issues of economic and political challenges will not be discussed," the former Union minister said.
    "I would especially like to tell the CMs of UP and Uttarakhand to take back this directive. Kanwar Yatra should continue as it is and earlier also yatra has happened and such a row never arose. Those who are on the Yatra know everything, where to eat and where not to eat," he said.
    The Congress on Friday had termed the order "mischief" and "bigotry".
    PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also slammed the order, saying it is against the Constitution which guarantees equal rights to all.
    Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, she said, "Rahul Gandhi was right when he said that if they (BJP) get over 400 seats, they will destroy the Constitution. They have come to 240 from 350 seats, but they have not learnt their lesson, they continue to do the opposite of what the Constitution says."
    "First they (BJP) want to trample the rights of the Muslims, then will be the turn of the Dalits and then backward and other castes because they want to create a different system and what they did in UP is against the Constitution of this country," she added.
    Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Indore-2 assembly seat Ramesh Mendola wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav urging him to make it mandatory for all shopkeepers in Madhya Pradesh to display their names outside their shops.
    "The name of any person is his identity. A person is proud of his name. Asking for the name is the customer's right and the shopkeeper should be proud to tell his name, not be ashamed," he said.
    Mendola, a four-time MLA, said that every small and big trader, all businessmen and shopkeepers of Madhya Pradesh can feel this sense of pride in telling their names.
    "I have written a letter to the chief minister and requested him to issue an order mandating the shopkeepers to display their own name in front of every shop in Madhya Pradesh. I urge the government to frame rules in this regard," the legislator said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)