‘Shopkeepers Being Asked To Remove Pants’: Owaisi Slams UP Over Kanwar Yatra Nameplate Row
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Uttar Pradesh government over preparations for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, alleging that shopkeepers on the pilgrimage route are being harassed and even being asked to “remove their pants” to prove their religion.
Owaisi questioned why the Yogi Adityanath-led government was not adhering to a Supreme Court order from last year that had put a hold on a controversial directive requiring eatery owners to display their names and contact numbers on boards outside their shops.
“There are many hotels near Muzaffarnagar bypass. These hotels have been there for years. Didn’t the Kanwar Yatra start here 10 years ago? It used to start peacefully. Why is all this happening now?” Owaisi asked. “Now, they are asking for Aadhaar cards from hoteliers. They are making shopkeepers remove their pants.”
The AIMIM leader demanded that the police take action against those harassing the shopkeepers instead of enforcing such directives. “How can they enter someone’s hotel? Going to a hotel and asking someone’s religion is wrong. Why isn’t the government doing anything?” he questioned.
The annual pilgrimage, which sees lakhs of Shiva devotees travel barefoot, will take place from July 11 to July 23 this year. The controversy first erupted in 2024 when the Muzaffarnagar police, and later the UP government, mandated that all eateries on the Yatra route must display their owners’ names. The move drew widespread criticism for allegedly targeting Muslim-owned businesses.
Following petitions, the Supreme Court in July 2024 issued an interim order, staying the enforcement of the directive. The court stated that while eateries could be asked to specify the type of food served, owners could not be forced to display their names.
Despite the apex court’s order, reports from Uttar Pradesh suggest that similar guidelines, including the display of names and a ban on the open sale of meat, have been issued for this year’s Yatra, leading to fresh allegations of harassment and vigilantism.
