Kanwar Yatra row: 'No one accepts service on basis of caste, religion', NDA ally Jayant Chaudhary slams Yogi govt's order

The two state governments' mandate is allegedly to prevent Muslim traders from 'profiting' off Hindu pilgrims who participate in the Kanwar Yatra.

Lucknow: Union minister Jayant Chaudhary, the president of the BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), on Sunday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government's directive to the owners of the eateries, dhabas and hotels along the 'Kanway Yatra' routes to mention their names in bold letters, saying it was a ''decision taken in haste'' and must be withdrawn.

Speaking to the reporters in Muzaffarnagar, Chaudhary said that the decision was taken without considering its pros and cons and that it should be scrapped immediately.

"It's a hasty decision...it has been taken without considering all the aspects...there still is time and the government should withdraw it," the union minister said.

"Kahan kahan naam likhen ... ab kya kurte par bhi naam likh len (where all names should be written ... should the people write their names on their kurta)," the RLD chief said in a sarcastic vein.

He said that the people, who served others during religious events, did not do so by asking the names of those served. "There is McDonald's ... there is Burger King here ... what should they do?," he went on to add.

Chaudhary's remarks assume significance as they have come at a time when some of the NDA alliance partners as well as the opposition parties have decried the UP government's decision. The directive which was earlier meant for the owners of the eateries in Muzaffarnagar only was later expanded to the entire Saharanpur division.

According to reports, the owners of the eateries have put up name plates outside their dhabas and hotels in bold letters. Reports said that some Hindu owners of the eateries had even sent their Muslim staff on leave fearing action by the police.

Some reports said that the owners of the tyre shops in Muzaffarnagar were also directed to mention their names.

Police said that the decision was taken to ''avoid any confusion'' among the 'kanwariyas' (Hindu devotees who collect waters from the sacred Ganga river and offer the same at Shiva temples during the Shravan month).

Although the police said that the directive was meant to prevent 'controversy' and 'tension', it was perceived to be aimed at the Muslim community, which allegedly operate eateries named after Hindu gods along the 'kanwar yatra' route.

BJP MLA from Muzaffarnagar Kapil Deo Agarwal and another MLA from Ghaziabad Nand Kishore Gujjar had claimed that many eateries named after Hindu gods along the kanwar yatra route were operated by Muslims and demanded that they must either be closed or their owners be directed to mention their names.

Thousands of 'kanwariyas' from Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana and different parts of UP pass through Muzaffarnagar to take waters of Ganga for being offered at the Shiva temples.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav had slammed the directive and said that the courts should take suo motu cognisance of the order and act against the administration.

''What happens if the names of the eateries are Guddu, Munna, Chotu or Fatte....what do their names reveal?,'' Akhilesh had said in a message on 'X' (formerly Twitter).