Pragya Thakur.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bhopal: BJP leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has asked Hindu shopkeepers to display their names on commercial establishments they own, apparently to differentiate Hindus from non-Hindus.
The former Bhopal MP made this appeal amidst a row over directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to highlight names of owners and staff of eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes. These directives were subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court which on Monday extended its July 22 interim order.
Days after the Ujjain mayor claimed shop owners had been directed to display their names and phone numbers on boards, the Madhya Pradesh government on July 21 clarified no such instructions had been issued for shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state, and there is no such compulsion.
"I appeal to every Hindu to write their name on their shops and establishments. Those who write their names are Hindus and those who do not write are not Hindus. No one can stop you from writing your name because the country belongs to you. Rest everyone is sensible," Thakur tweeted on Saturday.
Notably, the opposition had dubbed the directives issued by the UP and Uttarakhand governments as divisive and discriminatory against Muslims, and the apex court’s order effectively ensured that the Yatra was held without their orders being enforced.
Thousands of devotees travel from various places with ‘kanwars’ carrying holy water from the Ganga to perform ‘jalabhishek’ of Shivlings during the Hindu calendar month of ‘Shravan’. Many believers shun consuming meat during the month they consider holy. Many don’t even consume meals containing onions and garlic.