Agra:

A member of a right-wing group carrying a ‘kanwar’ on her shoulders tried to enter the Taj Mahal to offer ‘Gangajal’ on Monday, with the group claiming that the monument was a Lord Shiva temple called ‘Tejo Mahalaya’. However, she was stopped by the policemen of ‘Taj Suraksha’ deployed at the barrier of the west gate of the Taj Mahal.

She was stopped at the barrier of the west gate and was not able to enter the Taj Mahal, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Taj Suraksha, Syed Areeb Ahmad told PTI.

“After some time, she decided on her own to offer the ‘Gangajal’ at the Rajeshwar temple,” Ahmad added.

Meenu Rathore, who claimed herself to be the district president of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha in Agra, insisted police officials allow her to offer the ‘Gangajal’ in “Tejo Mahalaya”.

She further claimed that Lord Shiva came in her dreams and asked her to offer the ‘Gangajal’ at the monument.

“I came to Tejo Mahalaya to offer the ‘Gangajal’. Lord Shiv called me in my dreams and I brought kanwar to offer at Tejo Mahalaya. But, they (policemen) have stopped me from going ahead,” Rathore said.

Sanjay Jaat, a spokesperson of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, said, “It is our right to offer the ‘Ganga Jal’ in Taj Mahal as Taj Mahal is ‘Tejo Mahalaya’, a temple of Lord Shiva. She brought kanwar from Soron ji in Kasganj and reached Agra after two days.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Uttar Pradesh government has firmly opposed petitions challenging its directive requiring shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names prominently.

In a detailed submission to the Supreme Court, the state government said that the directive was issued to ensure a peaceful and orderly pilgrimage.

The Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage where devotees of Lord Shiva, known as Kanwariyas, travel to fetch holy water from the Ganges River, sees millions of participants each year. 

The Uttar Pradesh government claimed that the directive was introduced in response to specific complaints from Kanwariyas. Pilgrims had allegedly raised concerns about the food being served along the route, which led to apprehensions regarding its preparation in line with religious practices.

The opposition has targetted the government calling the directive ‘anti-muslim’ and aimed at creating divisions within the society.

Bhopal:

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has clarified that it has not issued any instructions requiring shop owners to display their names along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state, and there is no such compulsion.

Amidst a row in Uttar Pradesh over a directive to highlight shop owners’ names on eateries along the Yatra route, the MP government has asked urban bodies to refrain from spreading any confusion.

A statement was issued by the Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD) on Sunday night, days after the Ujjain mayor claimed shop owners had been directed to display their names and phone numbers on boards.

No instructions have been issued at the state government level regarding writing the names of shop owners on boards of their establishments along the Kanwar Yatra routes in urban areas, the UDHD stated.

Ujjain mayor Mukesh Tatwal last week cited a purported decision of the mayor-in-council dated September 26, 2002, and claimed a proposal asking shopkeepers to display their names had been approved.

He claimed the approval was forwarded to the state government for objections and all formalities have been completed.

Stating that such reports are inaccurate, the UDHD instructed urban bodies to avoid spreading confusion regarding directives to shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route, emphasising that Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Advertisement Media Rules, 2017, do not compel shop owners to display their names on boards.

“Boards can be put up on shops under the Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Advertisement Media Rules, 2017. There is no compulsion to display the name of the shop owner on these boards,” the UDHD stated.

Following the mayor’s comments, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation also confirmed that no proposal is in place to mandate the display of names and phone numbers on shop boards in the city.

Separately, BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola had written to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, expressing support for shop owners to proudly display their names.

Mr Mendola argued that the display of names is a matter of personal pride and customer right, and not something to be mandated or discouraged.

“Every small and big trader, businessman, and shopkeeper in Madhya Pradesh will experience a sense of pride in telling their names,” the MLA stated.

In Uttar Pradesh, the controversy began when Muzaffarnagar police ordered eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display owners’ names to avoid confusion. This directive has faced criticism from opposition parties and some ruling alliance members who argue that it unfairly targets Muslim traders.

The BJP government in UP extended this order statewide on Friday, while Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place in his state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Food, and who cooks and serves at restaurants, was at the core of arguments in the Supreme Court Monday as it heard petitions against a police directive to eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh – to display names of owners and employees “to ensure… no confusion…”

The opposition has slammed the directive and at least three allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose support at the centre is crucial to the BJP, and union ministers Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party).

“You go to a restaurant depending on the menu, not who is serving. The idea of directive is exclusion by identity. This is not the republic we envisaged in Constitution…” senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners said.

“There are a lot of ‘pure vegetarian’ restaurants run by Hindus… but they may have Muslim employees. Can I say I won’t eat there? Because food is somehow ‘touched’ by them?”

Last week police in UP’s Muzaffarnagar mandated all food joints along the route to prominently display names of owners. “This is being done to ensure there is no confusion among kanwariyas, and no allegations are raised in the future, leading to a law and order situation,” the cops said.

“Everyone is following this of their own free will…” the police said at a press conference.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that this move was to ensure no ‘Kanwariya’ buys anything from a Muslim owner’s shop.

New Tehri:

Four kanwariyas from Haryana have been arrested in Uttarakhand for allegedly attacking a parking lot employee with swords following an argument over parking fee, police said on Sunday.

The employee suffered a serious injury to his head in the incident that took place on Saturday evening in the Janaki Pul parking lot near the Neelkanth temple. The accused had kept their tractor-trolley there, Muni ki Reti police station in-charge Ritesh Shah said.

Kanwariyas are Shiv devotees who travel to collect water from the Ganga from states it passes through. They use the water to perform the ‘jalabhishek’ of the deity in temples in areas they hail from during the Hindu holy month of Sawan.

Shah said after visiting the temple, when the kanwariyas reached the parking lot, Balam Singh Bisht, Ajay and Subhash asked for parking fee. There was an argument and the accused attacked Bisht with swords, the officer said.

A case was registered on a complaint from the parking lot’s contractor Rahul Gupta and Mahant Saurabh Giri Naga Baba (40), Divya alias Deepu (19), Rajat (19) and Arun (18), all residents of Haryana’s Sonipat, were arrested, Shah said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Muzaffarnagar:

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and BJP ally 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.

“It seems that the order was taken without much thought and the government is adamant on it because the decision has been taken,” the Rajya Sabha member told reporters here.

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

No one identifies the Kanwar, neither the people who serve the Kanwar are identified on religion or caste, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Bollywood screenwriter Javed Akhtar reacted to the ongoing controversy over eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar being asked to display their owners’ names.

“Muzaffarnagar UP police has given instructions that on the route of a particular religious procession in near future all the shops restaurants n even vehicles should show the name of the owner prominently and clearly. Why? In Nazi Germany they used to make only a mark on particular shops and houses,” Javed Akhtar posted on X.

After a row erupted over eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar being asked to display their owners’ names, Muzaffarnagar Police on Thursday said that the police have urged all the eateries to “voluntarily display” the names of their owners and employees, adding that the intention of this order is not to create any kind of “religious discrimination” but only to facilitate the devotees.

“During the Shravan Kanwar Yatra, a large number of Kanwariyas from neighbouring states, via Western Uttar Pradesh, collect water from Haridwar and pass through Muzaffarnagar district. During the holy month of Shravan, many people, especially Kanwariyas, abstain from certain food items in their diet,” the Muzaffarnagar police stated.

“In the past, such instances have come to light where some shopkeepers selling all types of food items on Kanwar Marg named their shops in such a way that it created confusion among the Kanwariyas and created a law and order situation. To prevent such a recurrence and in view of the faith of the devotees, hotels, dhabas and shopkeepers selling food items on Kanwar Marg have been requested to voluntarily display the names of their owners and employees. The intention of this order is not to create any kind of religious discrimination but only to facilitate the devotees passing through Muzaffarnagar district, counter allegations and save the law and order situation. This system has been prevalent in the past, too,” it added.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday and likened the significant move to “apartheid” in South Africa and “judenboycott” in Hitler’s Germany.

“As per the order of the Uttar Pradesh Police, now every food shop or cart owner will have to put his name on the board so that no Kanwadia buys anything from a Muslim shop by mistake. This was called Apartheid in South Africa and in Hitler’s Germany, it was called ‘Judenboycott’,” Mr Owaisi posted on X.

Mr Owaisi shared the video of Senior Superintendent of Police, Muzzaffarnagar, Abhishek Singh on X, in which SSP said, “Preparations have begun for the kanwar yatra. In the area under our jurisdiction, which is around 240 km, all eateries, hotels, dhabas, and thelas (roadside carts) have been instructed to display the names of their proprietors or those running the shop. This is being done to ensure that there’s no confusion among the kanwarias and no allegations are raised in the future, leading to a law and order situation. Everyone is following this of their own free will.”

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday reviewed the preparations for the holy Kanwar Yatra, which begins on July 22, and provided necessary guidelines. The meeting was attended by ministers of water, power, urban development, and energy, along with the PWD minister and state ministers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)