Amid name display row in U.P., BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh asks CM Mohan Yadav to issue similar order

BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola urges Madhya Pradesh CM to mandate displaying shop owners' names for healthy competition.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Madhya Pradesh Ramesh Mendola on July 20 wrote to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav urging him to issue an order to make it mandatory for business establishments and shops in the State to display the owner’s name, joining the ongoing controversy over a similar order by the Uttar Pradesh government for eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route.

In his letter, Mr. Mendola, an MLA from Indore-2 constituency, said displaying their names will make them “feel proud” and encourage a “healthy competition” in business.

“By doing so, the identity of the shopkeeper will be established in the society and all the shopkeepers will try to provide better service to the customers to enhance their name and goodwill. This will lead to healthy competition in the business world and the state will develop at a faster pace,” wrote Mr. Mendola, who is also the president of the Madhya Pradesh Olympic Association.

The July 19 order by the Yogi Adityanath-led U.P. government, which mandates all eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of the owners, has faced criticism from Opposition parties as well as some of BJP’s allies who have termed it as “divisive”.

Kanwar Yatra eateries row: Muzaffarnagar order now extends across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand 

The U.P. government’s order came after a similar order issued by police in Muzaffarnagar district asking hotels, dhabas and eateries on the route of the Kanwar Yatra to display the names of the proprietors and shopkeepers. Following backlash, the condition in Muzaffarnagar was later made “voluntary”.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Mendola, however, denied that his request had anything to do with religion and politics.