Unfazed by the criticism by the opposition and even National Democratic Alliance partners, Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, ordered mandatory mentioning of owners of all eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route across Uttar Pradesh, a day after the police softened its controversial directive asking restaurants to put up their nameplates along the 240-km stretch the pilgrims take in the western part of the state.

A spokesperson for the state government said Yogi Adityanath has issued “stern directives” over displaying names and identities of the owners of eateries, shops and carts on the route to ensure that religious sanctity of the pilgrimage remains intact, and the pilgrims are not disturbed during the 11-day pilgrimage beginning on July 22 in the Hindu holy month of Shravan.

 He added that the chief minister also directed action against those involved in selling and promoting halal (permissible in Arabic) products.

Earlier, the district authorities of Muzaffarnagar, followed by Saharanpur and Shamli, had given this order early this week. A day later the Yogi Adityanath government ordered the same across the state. Even neighbouring Haridwar district authorities in Uttarakhand have also issued such orders.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the decision had been taken to preserve the sanctity of Kanwar pilgrims.

Now every eatery, be it a restaurant, a roadside dhaba, or even a food cart, will have to display the name of the owner.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, on Friday, once again took to her social media account X and posted a tweet on the order of the UP and Uttarakhand governments regarding putting name plates on all eateries and street side vendors in route of Kanwar Yatra in western Uttar Pradesh. She wrote, “The order by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to the traders of Kanwar Marg to prominently write the full name of the owner and staff on their shops and also to ban the sale of meat is just made for electoral gains and is completely unconstitutional.”

She further wrote, “This kind of economic boycott by the people belonging to a particular region is highly condemnable.”

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said the order to display the names of the owners of shops on the route of the Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh was divisive and an attack on the Constitution and democracy.

She said the order should be withdrawn and strict action should be taken against the officials who issued it.

Priyanka Gandhi posted on the social media platform 'X', “Our Constitution guarantees to every citizen that he will not be discriminated against on the basis of caste, religion, language or any other basis. The divisive order to put up boards with the names of the owners on thela, khomcha and shops in Uttar Pradesh is an attack on our Constitution, our democracy and our shared heritage.”

She said, “Creating division in society on the basis of caste and religion is a crime against the Constitution. This order should be withdrawn immediately and strict action should be taken against the officials who issued it.”

On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh state government announced several measures to ensure the smooth conduct of the Kanwar Yatra, which commences on July 22.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) also strongly criticised the order of Chief Minister Yogi, in which it has been made mandatory to write the names of the owners of the food shops falling on the Kanwar Yatra routes in UP. The party units have been asked to stage protests in the districts by burning copies of the order.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has also opposed the decision.

Amidst the debate and war of words between the opposition and ruling party leaders, shopkeepers and street vendors were seen putting up nameplates in front of their shops, including their names and other details, since Thursday evening.

Along with the leaders of opposition parties, NDA allies have also opposed the move by the UP government.

Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi said that an even bigger Kanwar Yatra takes place in Bihar but no such order is implemented there. He said the restrictions that had been imposed were a violation of the prime minister’s slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. He said such an order was not issued by Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand and it would be good if the UP government withdrew its order.

Rashtriya Lok Dal UP president Ram Ashish Rai, in a tweet on X, said that the administration in UP directing shopkeepers to write their name and religion on their shops was a step that promoted caste and sect. The administration should take back its order as it is unconstitutional, he added.

Congress MP from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, said that this was an order promoting hatred and action should be taken against such officers.

On the other hand, BJP leader Sangeet Som has supported the order and hit back at Akhilesh Yadav.

Muslim religious leader Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi said that this order was issued to prevent Hindu-Muslim confrontation and he supported it.

The Maulana alleged that Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav was politicising the issue. “I request him not to create division between Hindus and Muslims,” he said.

UP Minister of State for Skill Development Kapil Dev Aggarwal said the opposition was unnecessarily giving importance to the matter. “What’s the harm in transparency? The rules are not for any caste or religion. Shopkeepers from all over the society have been asked to do so,” he added.

Former Union minister Sanjeev Balyan wrote in a post on X that the order issued by Muzaffarnagar police, in which writing names at all shops was mandatory for all, was a pre-existing system. During the 2013 riots, the SP government’s order of compensation of Rs 5 lakh considering only Muslims as displaced was a religious discrimination.

SP MP from Muzaffarnagar Harendra Malik said that politics should not be done in the name of Muzaffarnagar and everyone had to maintain communal harmony. Former Samajwadi Party MP ST Hasan said, “A message is being given to boycott Muslims and visit shops of Hindu... How long will this communal thinking last? It is unfortunate that these kinds of incidents are happening... A gap is being created between the two communities. These kinds of orders should be cancelled...”