Halal food: politics heats upin UP

NEW DELHI:

The chief minister of India’s most populous state backed a plan on Friday requiring restaurants and roadside eateries to display the names of their owners, despite criticism the move was aimed at dividing establishments by religion.

Yogi Adityanath, a saffron-robed Hindu monk who heads Uttar Pradesh state, said the diktat would be enforced along a route taken by thousands of Hindu pilgrims during the holy month of Shravan every year.

The decision was taken to maintain the purity of the faith of the pilgrims, known as “kanwarias”, local media reports said, quoting an order from the chief minister’s office.

But critics of the move said it was meant to stop Hindus from patronising eateries owned by Muslims. AFP