No one should use names of religions they don't follow for shops or eateries: UP minister

Bijnor (UP), Jul 9 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Minister Raghuraj Singh has said that individuals who do not follow a particular religion should not name their establishments after that faith.

His remarks come close on the heels of an eatery named 'Pandit Ji ka Vaishno Dhaba' in Muzaffarnagar being found to be run by a Muslim man, who had allegedly used 'pandit' as an alibi. One of the eatery staff also identified himself as 'Gopal' even though his Aadhar card showed he was a Muslim.

Speaking in Nagina on Tuesday evening about the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, the minister of state and chairman for labour said, "Those who do not believe in a religion should not name their dhabas or shops after it." He objected particularly to people from other religions naming their eateries Vaishno Dhaba, a common name used for vegetarian roadside eateries often associated with Hindu customs.

The minister had come to Nagina to offer condolences to BJP's state general secretary (organisation) Dharmpal Singh, whose mother recently passed away.

Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage during the Hindu month of Shravan, where devotees of Lord Shiva travel on foot to collect holy water from the Ganga and offer it to Shiva temples.

The buzz around shopkeepers and eatery owners revealing their original names has grown in recent years due to concerns about religious identity, transparency, and communal sensitivities during the Yatra amid demands from sections that non-Hindus not be allowed to run businesses on Kanwar routes. PTI COR KIS MNK MNK