The Uttar Pradesh government’s instructions to display names of owners of shops situated along Kanwar Yatra routes across the state have raised the hackles of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Reacting sharply to the government move, the RLD termed the order on display of names as ‘unconstitutional’, demanding its rollback.
“The directive from the Uttar Pradesh administration requiring shopkeepers to display their name on their shops is a step that promotes caste and communal divisions. The administration should withdraw this unconstitutional decision,” UP RLD state chief Ramashish Rai wrote in a post on the X on Friday.
RLD spokesman Anil Dubey said that the party was not against displaying names. “But there are complaints about the administration forcing shopkeepers to display their caste and religion too. This is not fair,” he said.
The RLD’s strong reaction is being seen as its conscious bid to please Muslims in western UP. The government’s instructions to display names by owners of shops along the Kanwar routes is expected to hit Muslims in western UP the most.
Since the RLD had to work hard to regain the support of Muslims in 2022 assembly polls after it lost their confidence after Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, the RLD does not want to invite the displeasure of Muslims by supporting the government’s diktat. Two of nine RLD MLAs in the UP Vidhan Sabha are Muslims.
{{/usCountry}}Since the RLD had to work hard to regain the support of Muslims in 2022 assembly polls after it lost their confidence after Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, the RLD does not want to invite the displeasure of Muslims by supporting the government’s diktat. Two of nine RLD MLAs in the UP Vidhan Sabha are Muslims.
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