Kanwar Yatra Row: Owaisi Says Order Reflects 'Visceral Hatred' For Muslims, BJP Calls Him Jinnah

After the controversial order mandating eateries to display their owners’ names along the Kanwar Yatra route extended to the rest of Uttar Pradesh and was introduced in Uttarakhand, opposition parties called the order discriminatory and “anti-Muslim”. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi called it “visceral hatred” towards the minority community while saying there is “fear” on the Kanwar route in UP.

The order, which was first enforced in Muzaffarnagar, has now been extended to the rest of the state despite massive backlash. The BJP, meanwhile, alleged that Owaisi was indulging in divisive politics and, in doing so, was “playing the role of Jinnah”, who is known to be the founder of Pakistan.

In a post on X, Owaisi called the order the “reality of hatred for Indian Muslims”. “Fear on UP’s Kanwar routes: This is the reality of hatred for Indian Muslims. Credit for this visceral hatred goes to political parties, leaders of Hindutva and so-called lip-servicing secular parties,” he wrote on social media, sharing the picture of a stall selling eggs that has displayed the name of its owner.

The BJP’s West Bengal chief Sukanta Majumdar countered Owaisi’s statement, saying the opposition was trying to divide and mislead people. He alleged that the Samajwadi Party-led government, in the past, had issued a similar order.

In a statement to news agency ANI, he likened Owaisi to Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and said: “The Opposition is misleading people and spreading lies. A similar kind of notification was issued during Mulayam Singh Yadav’s government, and Akhilesh Yadav’s government also issued such notifications… it’s a routine exercise and not specific to the Kanwar Yatra. The law requires that names be registered, not identifying anyone by religion… Hindus who eat non-veg go to Muslim shops. In West Bengal, we go to many such shops, which are run by Muslims. The Opposition is trying to divide the people and Asaduddin Owaisi is playing the role of Jinnah.”

In his first reaction after the orders were issued in Muzaffarnagar, Owaisi had called it “apartheid” and likened it to “judenboycott” in Hitler’s Germany, which was a boycott of Jewish business during the Nazi regime. Bollywood lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar had also called the order similar to what had happened in Nazi Germany.

The BJP has defended the move, saying it gives fasting Hindus a choice to eat at a pure-vegetarian restaurant where the likelihood of them being served satvik food is higher.

After JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas) oppose order, Jitan Ram Manjhi says ‘what is the harm’

Even as the row heats up, the BJP demanded similar directives in Madhya Pradesh while the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind slammed the order as “discriminatory and communal”. But, contrary to NDA allies JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas), who unequivocally opposed the order, union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha said he saw “nothing wrong” with the order. Both Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Chirag Paswan have disapproved the directives issued in UP and Uttarakhand.

“What is the harm if people involved in businesses are asked to display their names and addresses prominently,” Manjhi said in Patna. “In fact, such display only makes it easy for buyers to spot a favourite stall. It is wrong to view the episode through the prism of religion,” he added.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani said the order was part of a “new game of politics under the guise of religion”. “This is a completely discriminatory and communal decision, and anti-national elements will get an opportunity to benefit from this,” Madani said.

He said there is fear of serious damage to communal harmony due to this new decree, which violates the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution. The Jamiat has called a meeting of its legal team on Sunday (July 21) to discuss the legal aspects of this “unconstitutional and illegal” order, he added.

“This is not the first Kanwar yatra, it has been going on for years but never before has a citizen been forced to reveal his religious identity. Rather, during the yatra, it is seen that Muslims have been arranging water and langar for the Kanwar pilgrims,” he said.

A BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh Mendola wrote a letter to chief minister Mohan Yadav urging him to make it mandatory for all shopkeepers in Madhya Pradesh to display their names outside their shops. “The name of any person is his identity. A person is proud of his name. Asking for the name is the customer’s right and the shopkeeper should be proud to tell his name, not be ashamed,” he said.

The four-time MLA from Indore-2 assembly seat said every small and big trader, all businessmen and shopkeepers of the state can feel this sense of pride in telling their names. “I have written a letter to the chief minister and requested him to issue an order mandating the shopkeepers to display their own name in front of every shop in Madhya Pradesh. I urge the government to frame rules in this regard,” the legislator said.

‘First Muslims, then Dalits’

Days after the police in Muzaffarnagar asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners’ names, the UP government on July 19 extended the order across the state. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place in his state as well.

Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal wondered if this will lead to a ‘Viksit Bharat’. “Kanwar Yatra Route. UP directs eateries including roadside carts to display names of owners! Is this the route to a ‘Viksit Bharat’?” “Divisive agendas will only divide the country!” he said in a post on X.

Addressing a press conference, the former Congress leader said the politics happening on Kanwar Yatra is not going to take India towards becoming ‘Viksit Bharat’. “The prime minister, home minister and chief ministers should not raise such issues on which politics is done, that lead to controversies. The common person has nothing to do with these issues. What will happen is that the row will escalate, traders would suffer losses. Such issues will later be raised in the Parliament and issues of economic and political challenges will not be discussed,” he said.

“I would especially like to tell the CMs of UP and Uttarakhand to take back this directive. Kanwar Yatra should continue as it is and earlier also yatra has happened and such a row never arose. Those who are on the Yatra know everything, where to eat and where not to eat,” he added.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also slammed the order, saying the BJP is targeting Muslims now, but soon it will be the turn of Dalits whose rights will also be trampled upon by the saffron party. “Rahul Gandhi was right when he said that if they (BJP) get over 400 seats, they will destroy the Constitution. They have come to 240 from 350 seats, but they have not learnt their lesson, they continue to do the opposite of what the Constitution says,” she said in Srinagar.

“First they (BJP) want to trample the rights of the Muslims, then will be the turn of the Dalits and then backward and other castes because they want to create a different system and what they did in UP is against the Constitution of this country,” she added.

The Congress has alleged that the directive was intended to normalise the economic boycott of Muslims. Its spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order “state-sponsored bigotry” while senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the move was “an attack on the Constitution”.

Both Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati also hit out at the advisory. Yadav dubbed it a “social crime” and appealed to courts to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.

(With PTI inputs)