Display of shop owners’ name on Kanwar route: ‘Hasty decision,’ Jayant demands rollback
Reacting to Jayant Chaudhary and other opposition leaders criticising the government’s directives, the BJP urged against politicizing the issue for cheap popularity.
LUCKNOW/MEERUT: The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has not diluted its stance on the Uttar Pradesh government’s instructions for the display of shop owners’ names along Kanwar Yatra routes. Now opposing the directives, union minister of state (Independent Charge) and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary said that it did not appear to be a well-thought-out decision.
Two days after RLD state president Ramashish Rai called the order unconstitutional on X, Jayant Chaudhary reiterated the same stance on Sunday. Talking to reporters at Yusufpur village in Muzaffarnagar district, where he unveiled the statue of martyr Nayak Lokesh Kumar, he demanded that the Yogi government revoke the decision.
“Our stance is the same as already made public by our state president, and our party firmly stands by it,” he said.
“No one identifies Kanwars by religion or caste, nor do the people who serve them,” he said. “It seems the order was issued in haste without much thought, and the government is adamant on it simply because a decision has been made,” Jayant added.
“Everyone’s writing names on their shops, but the owner might be different from the brand. What will McDonald’s or Burger King write in Khatauli? There could be multiple owners,” he said, adding, “How does it matter who is making the food? Muslims are vegetarians, and Hindus eat non-veg. Where should we write the names?”
“There is still time for the rollback of the order,” he said, adding, “Though no one is being compelled to display names.”
Earlier, on Wednesday, RLD state chief Ramashish Rai posted on X: “The directive from the Uttar Pradesh administration requiring shopkeepers to display their names and religion on their shops is a step that promotes caste and communal divisions.”
The administration should withdraw this unconstitutional decision,” UP RLD state chief wrote in a post on X on Friday.
Reacting to Jayant Chaudhary and other opposition leaders criticising the government’s directives, the BJP urged against politicizing the issue for cheap popularity. BJP spokesman Sameer Singh emphasised that the Uttar Pradesh government’s rules for displaying shop owners’ names along the Kanwar yatra routes are legal and in the public interest.
He said that the law predates the Yogi Adityanath government, which had only enforced an existing regulation. “No one should politicise this matter for cheap popularity,” Singh added.
The RLD’s strong reactions are seen as part of its strategy to appeal to Muslims in western UP. The government’s instructions for shop owners to display their names along Kanwar routes are expected to impact Muslims in western UP the most.
After losing Muslim support following the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, the RLD had to work hard to regain their trust before the 2022 assembly polls. Consequently, the party does not want to alienate Muslims by remaining silent on the government’s directive.