The Uttar Pradesh government has submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court opposing petitions challenging its directive that shop owners display their names along the Kanwar Yatra route. The government argued that this directive aims to ensure a peaceful Kanwar Yatra and promote transparency. This comes after the Supreme Court placed an interim stay on the directive.
The Yogi Adityanath government clarified that the directive is intended to promote transparency and allow consumers, especially Kanwariyas, to make informed choices about the food they consume during the Yatra, in consideration of their religious sentiments. This measure is to ensure they do not inadvertently consume food that goes against their beliefs.
On Monday, the Supreme Court halted the implementation of the directives from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which required eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display information about their owners and staff. The court also issued notices to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, where a similar order was issued in Ujjain.
The court suggested that eateries might instead be required to display whether the food they serve is vegetarian or non-vegetarian. The top court was hearing a batch of pleas from individuals including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, academician Apoorvanand Jha, columnist Aakar Patel, and the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights challenging the directives.
No representatives from the state governments appeared in the apex court on Monday. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on July 26. The opposition thanked the Supreme Court for issuing a stay on the directive. The Congress welcomed the order and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remind BJP chief ministers of their “raj dharma.”
Right-wing groups criticized the ruling, expressing hope that the “basic human rights” of pilgrims would be upheld in the next court hearing. Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) secretary general Bajrang Bagda stated that the order has “demotivated the Hindu community, Hindu pilgrims, and Kanwar Yatris.”
