Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on July 20 asserted that he saw "nothing wrong" with fruit sellers along the 'Kanwar Yatra' route in Uttar Pradesh being asked to display their names at their stalls.
Mr. Manjhi was responding to journalists' questions about the controversial U.P. police directive, which has faced criticism from the Opposition and some BJP allies, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's [Janatha Dal (United) [JD(U)] and Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
Mr. Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, asked, "I cannot speak for other parties, but I see nothing wrong with such an order. What is the harm if people involved in businesses are asked to display their names and addresses prominently? In fact, such a display only makes it easy for buyers to spot a favourite stall. It is wrong to view the episode through the prism of religion", Mr. Manjhi added, who made his Parliamentary debut, at the age of 79, in the recent elections.
Mr. Manjhi's stance on the issue differs from that of Mr. Paswan, another Dalit leader from Bihar. Mr. Paswan recently told PTI that he disapproved of the directive, stating that "casteism and communalism have harmed the country more than anything else." The Opposition has alleged that the U.P. police directive aims to push Muslim fruit sellers out of business during the pilgrimage season.
JD(U) chief spokesman K. .C Tyagi criticised the U.P. police order, invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sabka saath sabka vikas slogan and noting that similar directives have not been issued in other States associated with Kanwar Yatra, such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.
Interestingly, Mr. Manjhi has often drawn flak from the BJP for remarks like "Lord Rama is imaginary, not historical" and tirade against Brahmins.
