NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday slammed as "divisive agenda" the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments' order to all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names and demanded that it should be withdrawn.
Days after the Muzaffarnagar Police asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended the controversial order across the state.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place in his state as well.
In a post on X, Sibal said, "Kanwar Yatra Route. UP directs eateries including roadside carts to display names of owners! Is this the route to a 'Viksit Bharat'?"
"Divisive agendas will only divide the country!" the former Congress leader and Independent Rajya Sabha MP said.
Addressing a press conference here, Sibal said the politics that is happening on Kanwar Yatra is not going to take India towards becoming 'Viksit Bharat'.
"The Prime Minister, Home Minister and Chief Ministers should not raise such issues on which politics is done, that lead to controversies. The common person has nothing to do with these issues. What will happen is that the row will escalate, traders would suffer losses. Such issues will later be raised in the Parliament and issues of economic and political challenges will not be discussed," the former Union minister said.
He said the elections in three states are round the corner and attempts would be made to create such controversies that raise tensions and benefit a particular political party.
Sibal said the need is to pay attention to the "big problem" of unemployment.
"I would especially like to tell the CMs of UP and Uttarakhand to take back this directive. Kanwar Yatra should continue as it is and earlier also yatra has happened and such a row never arose. Those who are on the Yatra know everything, where to eat and where not to eat," he said.
Several opposition leaders have slammed the order, calling it discriminatory.
The Congress on Friday termed the order "mischief" and "bigotry".