Kanwar Yatra row: Multiple petitions in SC challenging 'nameplate' directives

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, political commentator Apoorvanand Jha, and columnist Aakar Patel have moved the Supreme Court against directives from the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments requiring eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners.

The directive, initially framed as 'voluntary,' has since been enforced rigorously across both states.

In her plea, Moitra seeks a stay on these orders, arguing that they aggravate discord between communities. The TMC leader contends that forcing proprietors and staff to disclose their names, ostensibly to respect pilgrims' dietary choices, is a pretext for revealing religious identities.

This, she claims, fosters a socially-enforced economic boycott of Muslim shop owners and workers, resulting in significant livelihood losses.

"Since June 2023, the State of UP has empowered anti-social elements by targeting Muslim-owned businesses based on fabricated information," Moitra's petition states. She argues that the directives have created conditions for an economic boycott of Muslim minorities under the guise of dietary preferences.

Jha and Patel's petition similarly challenges the directives as disproportionate interventions violating Fundamental Rights under Articles 14, 15, and 17 of the Constitution.

They argue that the enforced advisory is an overreach of state authority, leading to detentions and forced dismissals of employees from certain communities.

The petitioners contend that the directives endorse 'untouchability' practices, explicitly barred under Article 17, and violate the right to privacy, exposing owners and workers to danger, Live Law reported.

The Supreme Court is set to hear these pleas, with a bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti scheduled to review the case. The petitions have drawn widespread criticism from opposition parties and some members of the ruling NDA, who argue the orders target Muslim traders.

The Kanwar Yatra, starting 22 July, is an annual pilgrimage where Shiva devotees, or Kanwarias, carry holy water from the Ganges to offer at Shiva temples.

Authorities in UP and Uttarakhand have made extensive arrangements for the yatra, which will span from 22 July to 19 August, including security measures to ensure a smooth pilgrimage.

(With PTI Inputs)