The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand BJP Governments Must Rescind This Divisive Order

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the decision by the BJP state governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directing all eateries along the entire stretch of the Kanwar Yatra route to display the owners’ names. Clearly, this is designed to sharpen communal polarization and foster tensions among religious communities.

This move is blatantly unconstitutional and strikes at the foundation of the fundamental right of equality for all citizens.

While the immediate objective is to sharpen communal polarization, such actions by the BJP governments may soon lead to the exacerbation of caste tensions and intensifying caste-based social oppression. This is the direction in which the BJP aims to reorder our society along the lines of the ‘Manusmriti’, negating the foundations of our Constitution and its guarantee of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all citizens.

BJP allies in the ND alliance must immediately ensure that such divisive and dangerous moves are not permitted and must mount pressure both the UP and Uttarakhand governments to rescind this order.