Lucknow, July 23 (IANS) Former Samajwadi Party MP S.T. Hasan on Wednesday welcomed Supreme Court’s order for all the hotel owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display licences and the registration certificate, stating that there is no harm in doing so.

In its order, the Justice M.M. Sundresh-led Bench said that all the hotel owners shall comply with the mandate of displaying the license and registration certification as required under the existing law.

The apex court clarified that it has not gone into the merits of the plea, which contended that the directive to display the QR codes is a breach of privacy rights and has a discriminatory and stigmatising effect.

Reacting to this, Hasan told IANS: “I have always been saying that one should not do business by hiding their name. Islam does not permit deceiving anyone. Our faith is that the One who created us is the same One who provides sustenance.”

He stated that the directive aims to make consumers aware of which shop their food is coming from, and there shouldn’t be any issues with that.

“The QR code only indicates whose goods they are. There is no issue with that. The situation in this state and country has become such that politics has greatly increased hatred, which causes harm to Muslims. Vandalism occurs, problems are created, and later, the cases that are filed are registered against Muslims, not against those who commit violence,” he said.

Stressing that Islam only teaches honesty and truth, Hasan said: “We should now speak and live in a way that we present our truth; we present ourselves with utmost honesty. This is what our religion and faith teach.”

Ahead of the holy month of Shravan, when Kanwar Yatra begins, the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand state governments have issued an advisory mandating the display of a QR code that allows pilgrims to access “ownership details” of the shopkeepers to make sure that there is no adulteration in the food that the Kanwariyas will buy.

–IANS

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