Haridwar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj on Sunday demanded that hotel, dhaba and eatery owners on the Kanwar Yatra routes should display their names and identities on boards outside their business establishments.

The owners, who hide their identities under fake names, on the Kanwar Yatra routes should not be spared, he told reporters here.

“Tampering with faith of the Hindu devotees during the Kanwar Yatra will not be tolerated,” said the Unnao MP.

The food shops on the Kanwar Yatra routes should have a board outside with the names of their owners clearly written on them, he added.

The BJP MP also demanded a complete ban on meat and liquor shops on the routes during the Kanwar Yatra.

The yatra is a matter of faith and the sentiments of the devotees must be respected, he said.

Earlier in the month, Muzaffarnagar Swami Yashveer Maharaj referred to the Muslim community with Islamophobic terms like ‘jihadis’, alleging the Hindu community will no longer tolerate the display of Hindu deities’ names in their eateries and shops.

In July last year, the Muzaffarnagar police issued an order stating that all shopkeepers should display their names and religious identity in front of their stalls. They defended the order, stating it would “help them control communal tensions during the Kanwar yatra.”

The directive faced widespread condemnation from activists, opposition leaders, and civil societies, who blamed the Yogi Adityanath government for creating a religious divide.

The directive drew vast condemnation from all sectors of life, with activists and opposition parties blaming the Yogi Adityanath government for creating a religious divide. Finally, the Supreme Court took a suo motu and issued an interim stay, allowing businesses to state whether they serve vegetarian or non-vegetarian food.

(With PTI inputs)