"Anti-Dalit, anti-Muslim if I write my name and religion on shop": Congress' Pawan Khera
Jul 23, 2024
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 23 : After the Supreme Court put an interim stay on 'nameplates' on eateries in Kanwar Yatra routes, Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the top court order is unconstitutional and if one writes their name and religion on the shop, then it is anti-Dalit and anti-Muslim.
The Supreme Court on Monday put an interim stay on directives issued by the authorities of certain state governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route should display the names of the owners outside such shops.
Speaking with ANI, Khera said, "We had vehemently opposed this because this is anti-Constitutional."
He added, "If I write my caste and my religion on my shop, then it is anti-Dalit, anti-tribal, anti-Muslims, and anti-minority. We oppose this."
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notice to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, where the Kanwar Yatra takes place.
The bench said state police cannot force shopkeepers to display their names and they can only be asked to display food items."Until the returnable date, having regard to the discussion, we deem it appropriate to pass an interim order prohibiting the enforcement of the above directives. In other words, the food sellers... hawkers, etc. may be required to display the kind of food they are serving to Kanwariyas but they must not be forced to disclose the names," the bench said in it's order.
It has posted the matter for hearing on July 26.
The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the directive issued by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarnagar, in Uttar Pradesh, to shop owners to display their names outside shops during the Kanwar Yatra season. The police had said that the decision was in the interest of law and order.
The directive was reportedly enforced across many districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh also came up with similar directives.
The petitions were filed by Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand with activist Aakar Patel.
Meanwhile, Khera also spoke on the Parliament Monsoon Session and said that they are continuously raising the issue of NEET. He said, " We also raised our voices on MSP. But we do not have any expectation from this government that it will do any work that will help the youth and farmers get justice."
This year's Monsoon Session will have 19 sittings until August 12. The Modi government is expected to present six bills, among which the Aircraft Act and Parliament's nod for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir are prominent.
The government will also present the Finance Bill after the announcement of the budget on July 23. Among the other bills, the disaster management law, the Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024, the Boilers Bill, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill will be tabled in this year's Monsoon Session.