Chirag Paswan, Union minister and president of BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), has categorically rejected the Muzaffarnagar police recommendation requesting restaurant owners to display their names on the sign. He said that he would “absolutely… never support or encourage” any division caused by caste or religion.
“No, I don’t,” Paswan told PTI when asked if he supported the advisory. According to him, there are two social strata in society, the rich and the poor, and members of various castes and religions can be found in both.
“We need to bridge the gap between these two classes of people. It is every government’s responsibility to work for the poor, which includes all sections of society such as Dalits, backwards, upper castes and Muslims as well. All are there. We need to work for them,” Paswan said.
He further added that whenever there is such a divide in the name of caste or religion, he does not either support it or encourage it. “I do not think any educated young person of my age, irrespective of the caste or religion they come from, is affected by such things,” he continued.
The 41-year-old three-term member of the Lok Sabha identified himself as an educated young person of the twenty-first century who fights against communalism and casteism.
Paswan believed that these elements were principally to blame for Bihar, his own state, being backward as the state is most affected by communalism and casteism. He claimed that because he does not believe in these things, he has the guts to speak out in public.
The guidance, according to police, is intended to make sure that there is no confusion among ‘kanwarias’ (pilgrims travelling to offer holy water to Lord Shiva) and that no law-and-order problem occurs. Janata Dal (United), another BJP ally, had previously questioned the recommendation.
The police have stated that the directive is voluntary, but the Congress denounced it as an assault on India’s culture and claimed it will normalise the economic boycott of Muslims.
The ruling BJP, which controls both the central government and the state of Uttar Pradesh, has defended the law, saying that it permits Hindus who are fasting to dine in a restaurant that serves only vegetarian food, increasing the possibility that they will be offered ‘satvik’ food.
After Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand has also followed the line and asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the owners’ names on their signboards.
(with inputs from PTI)
2024-07-19T12:15:01Z