Nameplate row: NDA ally RLD opposes Muzaffarnagar Kanwar order

"One should not link the yatra with religion, caste or creed," RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary told reporters.

The Uttar Pradesh government order that instructs restaurant owners, shopkeepers and fruit vendors in Muzaffarnagar to display their names on the Kanwar marg has not gone down well with some allies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Objecting to the order, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary described it as ‘ignorance’.

“A Kanwar pilgrim does not discriminate based on religion or caste. They buy fruits or food as a prasad and move forward. Tell me, what will McDonald’s display who their owner is? or Burger King? One should not link the yatra with religion, caste or creed,” the RLD chief told reporters.

When asked if he had put forward his objection to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also the state government in Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary said that sometimes decisions are taken without a proper discussion.

“I don’t think there was enough discussion on this topic. Now that the decision is made, they are not ready to take it back. Such mistakes happen. I appeal to the state government to revert the order. I would suggest if it’s a choice, then be it. But do not force it,” the RLD chief said.

On vegetarian and non-vegetarian food served to the pilgrims, Chaudhary said, “How does it matter who prepared the food? We have Muslims who are vegetarians and Hindus who eat meat.”

On July 17, the Muzaffarnagar district police sent notices to restaurants, fruit shops, roadside dhabas and hotel owners to display their names in front of the shops in order to identify which religious community they belong to.

The senior superintendent of police (SSP) told reporters the primary objective of this step is to conduct the Kanwar Yatra in a peaceful manner.

“The Kanwar yatra route from Muzaffarnagar is around 240 km. We have sent notices to all hotel managements, dhabas owners, fruit vendors to display their names so that there is no confusion and no law and order situation arises,” the police officer said.

Uttarakhand follows UP

The Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has followed his UP counterpart and instructed hotels, dhabas and roadside eateries along the yatra route in Uttarakhand to display their owners’ names, addresses and mobile phone numbers.

The Uttarakhand decision will mostly cover Haridwar but some ‘kanwariyas’ also visit Rishikesh, Neelkanth and Gangotri as part of the yatra which begins on July 22.

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