Picture : ANI / X
The Supreme Court has ordered an interim stay on the directives issued by Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand asking eatery owners along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, the staff and other details, a move the opposition has claimed is intended to promote religious discrimination.
Issuing notice to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, where the Ujjain municipal body has issued a similar directive, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti, however, said eateries may be required to display the kind of food they are serving like they are vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
A large number of devotees travel from various places with ‘kanwars’ carrying holy water from the Ganga to perform ‘jalabhishek’ of Shivlings during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan. Many believers shun consuming meat during the month they consider holy.
The significant order comes amid an escalating row over the directives, with even BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) joining the chorus for their withdrawal and opposition parties resolving to raise the issue in Parliament.
The opposition has alleged that the orders were “communal and divisive” and intended to target Muslims and Scheduled Castes by forcing them to reveal their identity, but the BJP maintained that the step has been taken keeping in mind law and order issues and the religious sentiments of pilgrims.
Reacting to the Supreme Court order, TMC MP and petitioner Mahua Moitra told media outside parliament, “I am happy, we had filed the petition yesterday and it came up in the Supreme Court today. It is a completely unconstitutional order against the fundament principles of our Constitution. There is a stay on the order and there is no requirement to display the identities and the names of owners and employees. Only the Veg/Non-Veg symbol is to be put in the shops.”
Moitra later tweeted on X
Supreme Court grants STAY on illegal & unconstituional Kanwar Yatra order.
– Enforcement of impugned directives stayed.
– No requirement to display identity or name of owner or workersLong live our Constitution. And may we always protect it.
Thanks @dramsinghvi— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 22, 2024
CPI too welcomed The SC ruling,
CPI welcomes Supreme Court’s interim stay on the highly-discriminatory and anti-constitutional orders issued by many BJP-ruled states asking vendors along the routes of Kanwar Yatras to display the names of owners and employees.
Our Constitution envisaged a society with…
— D. Raja (@ComradeDRaja) July 22, 2024
