A row erupted after Uttar Pradesh police asked eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route in Muzaffarnagar to display their owners’ names, with Opposition linking the move to “apartheid” in South Africa and “Judenboycott” in Hitler’s Germany. Kanwar Yatra is set to commence on July 22.
In preparation for the procession, police in the Muzaffarnagar district issued an order asking all eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners prominently outside their establishments. The move was seen by the opposition parties as targeting Muslim traders.
After the directive was issued, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav asked the judiciary to take suo motu cognizance of the matter to probe the "intention of the government" behind the move.
"…and what will be known from the name of the one whose name is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fatte? The honourable court should take suo motu cognizance and investigate the intentions of the government behind such administration and take appropriate punitive action. Such orders are social crimes, which want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of harmony," he said in Hindi in a post on X.
Criticising UP police's move, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Owaisi compared it to Apartheid and Juden boycott, the boycott of Jewish businesses in Hitler's Germany.
In a post in Hindi on X (formally Twitter), Owaisi said, "As per the order of Uttar Pradesh Police, now every food shop or cart owner will have to put his name on the board so that no Kanwariya buys anything from a Muslim shop by mistake. This was called Apartheid in South Africa and in Hitler's Germany it was called 'Judenboycott'."
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. ‘Judenboycott’, on the other hand, was the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses.
Congress also criticised the order and called it as order state-sponsored bigotry. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, in a post on X, said, "Not just political parties, all right-thinking people and the media must rise against this state-sponsored bigotry. We cannot allow the BJP to push the country back into dark ages."
With their posts, both the Congress and the AIMIM have shared a video of Muzaffarnagar police chief Abhishek Singh's media byte regarding his order.
Earlier, talking to the media, Singh on Monday said that preparations for Sawan month have started in the 'Muzaffarnagar district.
"About 240 km of Kanwar Yatra route falls in the district. All the eateries, including hotels, dhabas and carts, on the route have been asked to display the names of their proprietors or those working on these shops. This has been done to ensure that there should be no confusion among kanwariyas and no law and order situation arises. All are following this voluntarily," he had told reporters.
Additionally, liquor and meat shops along the yatra routes will remain closed, and authorities are instructed to prevent stray animals from obstructing the pilgrims’ path.
This came after the VHP on July 9 claimed that Muslims are selling puja items at various Hindu pilgrimage sites by concealing their identity and urged all state governments to take effective steps to prevent them from running such shops so that the faith of Hindus is not hurt.
In a statement, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) secretary general Bajrang Bagra also appealed to people to remain vigilant and immediately inform the local administration if they find anyone from the minority community selling puja items near temples and other Hindu religious sites.