AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has drawn a parallel between the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses during the Third Reich and the Apartheid practised by South African in the past with the decision of the Uttar Pradesh police to make it mandatory for the owners of food carts to put up their name on the board so that Kanwariyas do not buy food items from any Muslim shop owner.
The AIMIM chief had taken to social platform X to voice his objection to the decision of the UP Police. He wrote: “According to the order of Uttar Pradesh police now every food shop or cart owner will have to put his name on the board so that no Kanwariya buys anything from a Muslim shop by mistake. This was called Apartheid in South Africa and in Hitler’s Germany it was called ‘Judenboycott’(Judenboykott).”
The Judenboykott had begun in Hitler’s Germany in 1933 which had culminated with the final solution. Owaisi has been critical of both the BJP government and the Opposition for not raising issues of injustice against Muslims.
The Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage which takes place in the month of Shravan and a large number of devotees undertake a journey to collect water from the Ganges in order to pour it on Lord Shiva. Lakhs of devotees descend on the roads to celebrate the occasion.
While speaking about the state government’s arrangements for the event a police officer in UP confirmed that food cart owners have been instructed to put up their names so that Kanwariyas do not buy eatables from Muslims.