"Exclusion By Identity": Petitioners On Kanwar Yatra Eateries Order

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has stayed, till Friday, a controversial Uttar Pradesh government order directing eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of owners and employees “to ensure… no confusion among kanwariyas”.

The court referred to the “… implication of (the) directive is spread across multiple states… let notice in these petitions (to UP, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh) be issued. Returnable on Friday.”

“…until returnable date we deem it appropriate to pass interim order prohibiting enforcement of above directives. In other words, food sellers must not be forced to display names of owners, staff…”

Food, and who cooks and serves at restaurants, was at the core of arguments this morning.

“You go to a restaurant depending on the menu, not who is serving. The idea of directive is exclusion by identity. This is not the republic we envisaged in Constitution…” senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, said.

“There are a lot of ‘pure vegetarian’ restaurants run by Hindus… but they may have Muslim employees. Can I say I won’t eat there? Because food is somehow ‘touched’ by them?”

Last week police in UP’s Muzaffarnagar mandated all food joints along the route to prominently display names of owners. “This is being done to ensure there is no confusion among kanwariyas, and no allegations are raised in the future, leading to a law and order situation,” the cops said.

The opposition has slammed the directive and at least three allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose support at the centre is crucial to the BJP, and union ministers Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party).

“Everyone is following this of their own free will…” the police said at a press conference.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that this move was to ensure no ‘Kanwariya’ buys anything from a Muslim owner’s shop.