• Source:JND
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The United States said that it was committed to upholding the right of freedom of religion for everyone after a Pakistani journalist raked up the issue of contentious name display order for eateries in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during Kanwar Yatra. As the journo, during a press briefing, alleged the BJP was ‘forcing’ Muslim restaurant owners to display their names, the US State Department said it was aware of such reports as well as the Supreme Court’s order staying it.

“We have seen those reports. We have also seen reports that the Indian Supreme Court on July 22 issued an interim stay on the implementation of those rules. So they're not actually in effect,” news agency ANI quoted US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller as saying.

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“Speaking generally, we are, as we always say, committed to promoting and protecting universal respect for the right of freedom of religion and belief for all anywhere in the world,” he added.

The Kanwar Yatra name display order created a furore in the political and social spectrum across the country. The Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh governments attracted a massive ire with many terming the orders as anti-Muslim.

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued an interim stay on directives from two BJP-ruled states that required eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners, staff, and other details. Besides, the top court served notices to both the state governments.

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However, the top court maintained that the eateries were required to display the kind of food they intended to offer. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti passed the order in this regard.