Yogi government’s recent ordinances seem to target specific communities, reflecting an alarming shift toward institutionalized prejudice.
IT APPEARS THAT Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not learned his lesson from the outcome of the recent Lok Sabha elections in his state. His party lost 30 Lok Sabha seats it previously held, which largely contributed to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s failure to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha.
Voters had evidently rejected the divisive agenda and the unlawful and undemocratic use of bulldozers to demolish buildings belonging to the minority community without due process of law.
Open communal threats and actions, such as campaigns against “love jihad” and directives for shopkeepers to display their names during the Kanwar Yatra, faced sharp criticism.
Perhaps the Chief Minister and his government have interpreted the election results through a different lens—that they had not done enough to divide society and that even harsher measures were required to consolidate their vote bank.
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This thinking may be behind two very reprehensible ordinances recently issued by the state government. Normally, any change in the law is made through the legislature, where a bill is presented in the Assembly, passed by a majority, and then ratified by the Governor before becoming law.
Ordinances are reserved for cases of extreme urgency when the Assembly is not in session and an issue cannot wait for the next session.
The state government has issued two ordinances: the Prevention of Pseudo and Anti-Harmony Activities and Prohibition of Spitting Ordinance, 2024, and the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Contamination in Food (Consumer Right to Know) Ordinance, 2024.
There is no dispute that places where food is prepared should maintain good hygiene, with cooks covering their heads, wearing gloves, and ensuring that such areas are monitored by CCTV. With the increased tendency of people to order food for delivery, such measures are indeed warranted.
However, how does the government justify mandating identity cards for cooks and other workers? What purpose does it serve, other than to profile members of a particular community and deepen the already divisive politics in the state?
Among the cognisable and non-bailable offences listed are “spitting on food” and “contaminating food with human waste,” which appear to be influenced by unverified social media posts. Governments should not base policy on such posts.
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While these acts are certainly abhorrent and cannot be tolerated, they could have been addressed under existing laws. And if such incidents were occurring, why has the government failed to apprehend the culprits? They could have easily been prosecuted under current laws.
The new provisions risk reinforcing ideas of “purity” for one section of society and alleged “impurity” for others, entrenching prejudice further.
These ordinances follow orders issued during the Kanwar Yatra, requiring shopkeepers to display their names, an order later stayed by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it was “contrary to constitutional and legal norms.”
Yet the state government has persisted, now mandating that the names of proprietors and managers of shops be displayed across the state. The latest ordinances are a continuation of the divisive narrative set by the government.
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Legitimizing social media rumours and institutionalizing prejudice will undoubtedly deepen divisions within society. The state government must withdraw these ordinances, or the Supreme Court should step in to quash them and hold the state accountable for its thinly veiled communal agenda. 
Vipin Pubby
The author, a freelance journalist, is a former Resident Editor of Indian Express, Chandigarh, and reported on the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern India, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab in his long, illustrious career.
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