Still time to roll back Kanwar eatery order RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary

    Muzaffarnagar/Budaun (UP), Jul 21 (PTI) Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary, a BJP ally, on Sunday demanded the Uttar Pradesh government rescind its order that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display the names of their owners.
    He said Kanwariyas do not ask about anyone's religion when they seek any their services and the matter (serving the kanwariyas) should not be linked to any religion.
    The order asking all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names was first issued by the Muzaffarnagar Police, and the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended it order across the state.
    The order has been slammed by opposition parties and also members of the ruling alliance, who say it targets Muslim traders.
    "It seems that the order was issued without much thought and the government is adamant on it because the decision has been taken," Rajya Sabha member Chaudhary told reporters here.
    "There is still time. It (rollback) should happen or the government should not put much emphasis on (implementing) it," he said.
    Chaudhary, whose party is in alliance with the BJP, also wondered if one would now be required to wear a name tag on one's clothes to identify one's religion.
    "Should we now wear name tags too so that one knows whom to shake hands with?" he said.
    At an all-party meeting on Sunday, the opposition made it all but clear that the matter will be raised in Parliament when the session begins Monday.
    The Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that the move is clearly targeted against Muslims and accused the ruling BJP in the state of pursuing communally divisive politics.
    Congress leaders K Suresh said Gaurav Gogoi criticised the decision at the all-party meeting, as did the Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh.
    Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP from Budaun Aditya Yadav, who arrived in his Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday, took a dig at the BJP over the issue.
    The BJP wants to take advantage by spreading hatred between Hindus and Muslims, but this will not happen, he said.
    Yadav also said not only the opposition, but NDA allies are also criticising the move.
    The BJP has no political issue left now so it is "creating hatred" between Hindus and Muslims, he alleged.
    But the public is very angry and the BJP will have to bear the brunt of this, he said.

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