Yoga guru and entrepreneur Baba Ramdev expressed his support on Sunday, July 12, for the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments’ directive requiring shopkeepers along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names.
He remarked that everyone should take pride in their identity, questioning why ‘Rahman’ would have an issue with revealing his name if Ramdev himself does not.
Ramdev stated, “If Ramdev has no problem in revealing his identity, then why should Rahman have a problem in revealing his identity? Everyone should be proud of their name. There is no need to hide the name, only purity is required in work. If our work is pure, it does not matter if we are Hindu, Muslim or from any other community.”
Opposition calls move discriminatory, anti Muslim
The controversy surrounding the Kanwar Yatra nameplate directive has escalated in both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, drawing significant criticism.
In Uttar Pradesh, the government mandated that all food vendors along the Kanwar Yatra route display their names, mobile numbers, and addresses.
This order, initially enforced in Muzaffarnagar, has now been extended statewide. Opposition parties have condemned the directive as discriminatory, arguing that it targets Muslim vendors and could incite communal tensions.
Leaders from various parties, including the AIMIM and the CPI(M), have likened the order to tactics used in oppressive regimes, emphasizing that it undermines constitutional values.
In contrast, BJP leaders defend the order as a routine measure for public safety and convenience, asserting that similar regulations were in place during previous governments.
They argue that the opposition is misrepresenting the intent behind the directive. Meanwhile, following developments in Uttar Pradesh, the Uttarakhand government, led by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, announced that similar nameplate regulations would be implemented in the state.
