Kanwar Yatra nameplate row: BJP allies at loggerheads with UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Choudhary on Sunday, opposed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yogi Adityanath government’s nameplate directive for eateries along the Kanwar route. The Rajya Sabha MP said the Kanwar Yatra does not belong to any one religion or caste.

"It seems that the order was taken without much thought and the government is adamant on it because the decision has been taken," the Rajya Sabha member told reporters in Muzaffarnagar.

"There is still time. It (roll back) should happen or the government should not put much emphasis on (implementing) it," he said.

“No one identify the Kanwar, neither the people who serve the Kanwar are identified on religion or caste,” he added.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners of BJP have 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 Uttar Pradesh government has ordered owners of hotels, restaurants, food carts and eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners at their outlets.

After the Muzaffarnagar Police issued the order, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended the controversial order across the state.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place in his state as well.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's allies, the Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), have advised the Yogi Adityanath-led 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.

Union minister and NDA ally Jayant Choudhary demanded a roll back on it or at least the government should not push on implementation of the ‘nameplate’ order.

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.