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.”…reports Asian Lite News
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.
Meanwhile, Bollywood screenwriter Javed Akhtar reacted to the ongoing controversy over eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar being asked to display their owners’ names
“Muzaffarnagar UP police has given instructions that on the route of a particular religious procession in near future all the shops restaurants n even vehicles should show the name of the owner prominently and clearly. Why? In Nazi Germany they used to make only a mark on particular shops and houses,” Javed Akhtar posted on X.
After a row erupted over eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar being asked to display their owners’ names, Muzaffarnagar Police on Thursday said that the police have urged all the eateries to “voluntarily display” the names of their owners and employees, adding that the intention of this order is 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,” the Muzaffarnagar police stated.
“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. 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. The intention of this order is not to create any kind of religious discrimination but only to facilitate the devotees passing through Muzaffarnagar district, counter allegations and save the law and order situation. This system has been prevalent in the past, too,” it added.
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