"Exclusion By Identity": Petitioners In Top Court On Kanwar Yatra Eateries Order

Last week police in UP's Muzaffarnagar mandated all food joints along the route to prominently display names of owners, "... to ensure there is no confusion among kanwariyas".

Food, and who cooks and serves at restaurants, was at the core of arguments in the Supreme Court Monday as it heard petitions against a police directive to eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh - to display names of owners and employees "to ensure... no confusion..."

The opposition has slammed the directive and at least three allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose support at the centre is crucial to the BJP, and union ministers Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party).

"You go to a restaurant depending on the menu, not who is serving. The idea of directive is exclusion by identity. This is not the republic we envisaged in Constitution..." senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners said.