The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), while welcoming the Supreme Court decision to put a stay on the order by UP and Uttarakhand Governments to display names of owners of all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes, strongly demanded apology of the Chief Ministers and Governors of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and stringent action against bureaucrats who have surrendered to the rabid communal conspiracy and prepared and signed such an anti-national order.
Groundxero | July 22, 2024
The Supreme Court on July 22 stayed the order passed by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand police asking eatery owners along the Kanwariya Yatra route to display names of owners and the staff employed by them. Stalls, hawkers, vegetable sellers, dhaba owners, etc., on the Kanwariya route were free to display the kind of food they sold but should not be compelled by the police to display the names or, for that matter, the caste or religious identity of their owners or employees, the court said.
The Opposition party MPs welcomed the SC’s interim stay on the directive promoting religious discrimination. Ms. Moitra, one of the petitioners in the case, termed the two BJP-led state governments’ decision as unconstitutional and called the SC’s order a victory for all Indians. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram compared the directive given by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to the Nazi regime ordering Jews to display the Star of David. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, welcoming the Supreme Court decision, said, “They have protected the Constitution.”
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a platform of farmer unions, also welcomed the Supreme Court decision to put a stay on the order by UP and Uttarakhand Governments to display names of owners of all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes. In a press statement, SKM said that it apprehends such display of names of owners is meant to identify their religion, and it will make commercial establishments of minorities easy targets to RSS/BJP’s communal game plan. “Rattled in the Lok Sabha elections by the peoples’ anger against the communal politics of RSS and unsuccessful attempt of the BJP to drown the people’s voice under the cacophony of Ram Mandir, the BJP Governments in both the States are desperately trying to polarise the religious Yatra and society at large,” said SKM.
SKM further added that the order by UP and Uttarakhand Governments is a grave violation of the Constitution of India, Article 15 (1) of which prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the basis of religion, race, sex or place of birth, and also Article 14 that provides equality before the law or equal protection within the territory of India and prohibits the unreasonable discrimination between persons. As per Article 15(2), the State shall not discriminate against any citizens “access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment”.
SKM said the immediate action by the Supreme Court to put a stay on the order will sensitise every citizen of India to be vigilant against those in the power but determined to sabotage and destroy the Constitutional principles of democracy, secularism, fraternity and to extinguish the national unity of India, a multinational country that is united based on the respect and equal treatment of the diversity in belief, language, tradition and culture.
The press statement boldly underlined that the common people in Hindi heartland has always observed all religious festivals, like Eid, Dussehra, Kanwar Yatra, Janmashtami etc. with secular fervour, gaiety and composite participation and they will not take kindly to this rabidly communal rhetoric of BJP-RSS combine.
It stated that Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have enjoyed and cherished a composite culture of all religions from time in memorial, which has been on display not only during the 1857 struggle against the British, but also during the recent farmers’ struggle. The statement pointed out that the massive gathering of more than 5 lakh farmers at Muzaffarnagar on September 5, 2021 was held under the appeal for “Har Har Mahadev, Allah-o-Akbar”. The statement added, “In fact, the Colonial British rulers began organised religious polarisation and inflamed communal divisions to sustain their rule of feudal-Imperialist exploitation and now in modern India, the RSS BJP combine is continuing that nefarious design to serve the Corporate loot of farmers, workers and the common people.”
SKM strongly demanded apology of the Chief Ministers and Governors of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and stringent action against bureaucrats who have surrendered to the rabid communal conspiracy and prepared and signed such an anti-national order.
SKM appealed to all its constituent farmer organisations to oppose this divisive plan of the BJP, and said that the farmer unions will plan concrete action campaigns across India to rally the people in protection of the national unity and the Constitutional principles of India and isolate the rabidly communal ideology of RSS-BJP combine.