Jayant Chaudhary breaks silence on UP's Kanwar Yatra order, says govt's decision ‘not well thought out’

RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary is an ally of the BJP, which governs Uttar Pradesh.

In his first reaction on the matter, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, a minister in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, on Sunday said that the controversial order issued by the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh regarding eateries and food stalls along the Kanwar Yatra routes in the state, was neither a ‘well thought out’ decision nor a ‘well-reasoned’ one.

Union minister and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary. (FILE PHOTO)

“No decision should cause harm to the sense of well-being of the community and harmony in the community. Those who go on Kanwar Yatra, and those who serve them, all are alike. This tradition has been there since the beginning…no one was bothered about who was serving them,” he told news agency ANI.

“This thing of identifying people and pointing them out, I couldn't get that,” the Union minister added.

The order, which requires eateries and food stalls along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' name, has been criticised by opposition parties, as well as BJP's allies in the NDA, including the RLD. It was first issued by Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar Police; after severe criticism, the district administration made displaying names a ‘voluntary’ decision.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, however, extended the directive to the entire state, and has refused to budge despite opposition to it.

On Saturday, former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, a BJP ally and minister in the central government, expressed his support for the directive.

"I cannot speak for other parties, but I see nothing wrong with such an order. What is the harm if people involved in businesses are asked to display their names and display their names and addresses prominently?” Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha and represents Bihar's Gaya parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha, said.