Should we now wear name tags too, asks BJP ally on Kanwar order

Bharatiya Janata Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary on Sunday demanded the Uttar Pradesh government roll back its order that eateries along the Kanwar route must display the names of their owners, saying the pilgrimage does not belong to any one religion or caste.

He said kanwariyas ask no-one their religion when they seek any service from them, neither should the matter (the pilgrimage) be linked to any religion.

Days after the Muzaffarnagar Police asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended the controversial order across the state.

The order has been slammed by opposition parties and members of the ruling alliance, who say it targets Muslim traders.

"It seems that the order was taken without much thought and the government is adamant on it because the decision has been taken," Rajya Sabha member Chaudhary told reporters in Muzaffarnagar.

"There is still time. It (roll back) should happen or the government should not put much emphasis on (implementing) it," he said.

The leader of the party, which is in alliance with the BJP, also wondered if one should wear a name tag on one's clothes to identify one's religion.

"Where all one would be made to place these identifiers! Should we now wear name tags too? So that one knows who to shake hands with?" he said.