Kanwar Yatra 2024: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday issued an order requiring all restaurants along the Kanwar Yatra route across the state to display the names of their owners outside their shops. The decision came a day after the Muzaffarnagar police reversed a similar order after facing massive backlash from the opposition leaders. The Muzaffarnagar Police issued a notice and clarified that compliance was voluntary and was not meant to create religious differences.

According to the new directive, every food shop or cart owner will have to put the owner's name on the board. CM Yogi stated that the decision was taken to protect the sanctity of Kanwar pilgrims. The chief minister also asserted that strict action will be taken against those selling halal-certified products, as reported by news agency ANI.

Kanwar Yatra 2024: After UP, Uttarakhand Issues Similar Order 

Following the recent directive by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, the Uttarakhand government also issued an order on similar guidelines of installing nameplates on board across the Yatra route to facilitate the pilgrims.

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Under the directive, all the food businessmen associated with food on the Kanwar Yatra route in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Neelkanth, Gangotri and Dehradun have been instructed to put nameplates and address boards outside their establishments.

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In the backdrop of the Muzaffarnagar police's order asking eateries on the Kanwar yatra route to display their owners' names, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hit out at the authorities and said that the decision may spread the "disease of untouchability".

In an apparent reference to the orders, Naqvi said, “The hasty orders of some overzealous officials may spread the disease of untouchability...Faith must be respected, but untouchability must not be encouraged)."

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Oppn Parties Criticise Move

The move has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition leaders. TMC leader Saket Gokhale has filed a case with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the order issued by the Muzaffarnagar Police asking proprietors of all the eateries, and restaurants to "display their names & names of staff members".

Condemning the order, Gokhale wrote on X, “This is a mischievous and unlawful order promoting discrimination & targeting based on religious identity. It is even more shameless that the SSP hasn't withdrawn the order despite protests on social media.”

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi compared the UP Police decision to “apartheid” in South Africa and “Judenboycott” in Hitler’s Germany. “As per the order of the 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,” he said.

Congress’ UP unit chief Ajay Rai also criticised the decision and said that the BJP-led government is trying to create distance among people. “This is impractical. They are trying to impair the sense of brotherhood in society, trying to create distance among people. This should be cancelled immediately,” Rai said.


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