"I urge court to take suo-motto cognizance": Akhilesh Yadav on row over displaying owners' names in Kanwar route

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 18 : After a row erupted over eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar being asked to display their owners' names, Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday pleaded the court to take suo-motto cognizance on the matter.
He labelled such orders as "social crimes," and said such orders can deteriorate the peaceful environment of the region.
Furthermore, he also urged the court to investigate the intention of the government and administration behind such orders.
Criticising the order, former CM Akhilesh Yadav also asked what names such as Guddu, Munna, Chhotu, or Fateh would clarify.
Taking it to a social media post on X, Akhilesh Yadav wrote, "And what will be known from the name of the person whose name is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fateh? The honourable court should take suo-motto cognizance and investigate the intention of the government behind such administration, and take appropriate punitive action. Such orders are social crimes that want to spoil the peaceful environment of harmony."
Earlier, in the day, on the issue, Muzaffarnagar Police 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'," Owaisi posted on X.
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.