Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday slammed the UP police’s order asking eateries along the 240-km route of the Kanwar Yatra to display the names of their owners and staff members, calling it a “social crime.” The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said such orders are to spoil” the “peaceful atmosphere of harmony”.
“The honourable court should take suo motu cognizance and investigate the intentions of the government behind such administration and take appropriate punitive action. Such orders are social crimes, which want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of harmony…And what will be known from the name of the one whose name is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fatte?” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
On Wednesday, the Muzaffarnagar police asked eateries, including roadside carts, along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners to “avoid any confusion” among the yatris.
“Kanwarias buy food from roadside eateries, and the order has been issued to avoid any confusion so that no allegations and counter-allegations are made, and no law-and-order situation arises later,” the order read.
This comes almost a month after Muzaffarnagar MLA and minister of state (independent charge) Kapil Dev Aggarwal had said that while he has no objection to Muslims running the businesses in the yatra route, they should not name their shops after Hindu gods or goddesses to avoid any conflict.
The UP police’s order triggered a massive row, with the opposition parties alleging that it targets a particular community.
However, the police insisted that the intention of the order was not to create any kind of religious discrimination but only to facilitate the devotees.
“During the Shravan Kanwar Yatra, a large number of Kanwariyas from neighbouring states, via Western Uttar Pradesh, collect water from Haridwar and pass through Muzaffarnagar district. During the holy month of Shravan, many people, especially Kanwariyas, abstain from certain food items in their diet…In the past, such instances have come to light where some shopkeepers selling all types of food items on Kanwar Marg named their shops in such a way that it created confusion among the Kanwariyas and created a law and order situation,” the Muzaffarnagar police said, as quoted by ANI.
They added that in order to “prevent such a recurrence” and in view of the “faith of the devotees”, hotels, dhabas and shopkeepers selling food items on Kanwar Marg have been requested to “voluntarily” display the names of their owners and employees.
Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage during which Shiva worshippers undertake a trek, mostly on foot, to collect water from the Ganga and offer it in Shiva temples across states. The yatra will be held from July 22 to August 2 this year.
(With inputs from ANI)
