Kanwar Yatra route diktats have courted controversy in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand as several cities like Varanasi, Ujjain, and Muzaffarnagar wherein eateries have been instructed to display nameplates or remain closed. In a recent directive by the Varanasi Municipal Corporation, all meat and poultry shops along the Kanwar Yatra route have been ordered to remain closed for the entire month of 'Saawan'.
The directive was finalized during an executive committee meeting chaired by Varanasi's Mayor, Sandeep Srivastava. The Municipal Commissioner said the decision was taken to ‘prevent’ potential inconvenience for the Kanwariyas.
The decision comes amidst preparations for the Hindu festival of Shravan Shivratri, which is dedicated to Shiva and falls in July or August each year.
In Varanasi, officials have been directed to conduct a survey along the Kanwar routes to identify and ensure the prompt closure of all meat and poultry shops.
The Kanwar yatra starts on Monday and will culminate on 2 August.
In Muzaffarnagar, shop and stall owners have started putting their names and phone numbers on banners. Later, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath mandated that every eatery along the Kanwar Yatra route display its name.
On Saturday, Uttarakhand authorities mandated that shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route display nameplates with their details. Backing the directive, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami cited "past instances of shop owners using fake names". He said, "It's a good decision.
After the Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh governments' move, the Ujjain municipal body in Madhya Pradesh also ordered shopkeepers to display their names.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has raised concerns over the recent directive from the Uttar Pradesh government, which mandates eateries, tea stalls, and fruit carts to display nameplates during the Kanwar Yatra.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's allies, the Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), are advising the UP government to reconsider the decision as unconstitutional and divisive.
The decision is "communally divisive and unconstitutional", said Ramashish Rai, state president of the RLD, the BJP's only ally in western UP. "The UP administration should take back the decision asking street vendors to display their names on their stalls," he posted on X.
The RLD has nine MLAs in UP, of which two are Muslims.
JD (U) general secretary KC Tyagi said that though a bigger Kanwar yatra takes place in Bihar and Jharkhand, no such order was in effect. "It is against PM Modi's description of Indian society and his credo of 'sab ka saath sabka vicar'. It would be good if the UP government reconsidered it," he said.
Earlier, Tyagi had remarked that Muslims have always come forward to help those undertaking the Kanwar yatra.
Union Minister and LJP president Chirag Paswan also opposed the UP police advisory. Speaking to a news agency, he said he would "never support or encourage" any divide in the name of caste or religion.
