Exclusive/ Is Vikramaditya Defying Party High Command? Congress Leader Speaks to Arnab

New Delhi: Amid the Congress high command's diktat to withdraw the controversial nameplate policy for eateries and vendors in Himachal Pradesh , state minister Vikramaditya Singh has finally broken his silence. Speaking exclusively to Republic Media Network Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami , Singh addressed the ongoing debate surrounding the policy, which mandated shopkeepers, street vendors, and restaurant owners to display their names and identification details. The policy, which was modelled after a similar regulation in Uttar Pradesh, was intended to promote transparency and accountability among businesses in the state. However, Opposition leaders in UP have alleged that the main motive behind the move was to differentiate between Muslims and Hindus. 

On Being asked by Arnab if he is going to take back this policy, Vikramaditya Singh said, " Himachal Pradesh is following no state's model...nobody's model. HP is a state in its own right and the issues of the state concern the people of the state. I'm nobody...no such big leader to defy the party's high command. I stand steadfast with the principles of the Indian National Congress (INC), and our leaders. I have spoken to them regarding state specific issues of Himachal, particularly with this law."

When Arnab countered Singh’s explanation, asserting, "What you’re saying now contradicts your own admission that the idea mirrors what Yogi Adityanath is doing in UP." 

In response, Singh clarified his earlier remarks, stating that the comparison to Uttar Pradesh was taken out of context. “There was a question by a journalist who asked if we were implementing the same model as Uttar Pradesh. At that time, I wasn’t aware of what the exact model in UP was, but I said yes, we're doing it in HP...according to law. A committee has been formed and we will discuss everything thread bear."

He added,"The Honourable Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha has constituted a committee, of which I'm a member, there are senior members of the Congress party who are a part of it and even members of the BJP are a part of this committee and we are scheduled to meet on October 3 where everything including the law will be discussed. Then a future course of action will be taken.  I stand by what the party says, the party high command has very categorically said that there should be no political and religious overtones to any policy by the Congress government."

On being asked where are the religious overtones in identifying names, Singh said that there were some concerns. 

Earlier in the day, referring to his statement regarding the display of names by street vendors, the minister had said, “I have been misquoted in the media and a political colour was given to communalise the issue.” He asserted that the provision of identification and registration of outsiders already exists in the Himachal Pradesh Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, which was implemented in the state with some amendments in 2016.

Further, the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2023 also ruled that the act should be implemented by creating vending and non-vending zones in municipal areas, he said.

Moreover, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihoods and Regulation) Act 2024 Shimla Municipal Corporation also states that registration and verification of vendors is mandatory and the committee constituted by the Vidhan Sabha to frame the street vendors policy would take a call.

He said Himachal is a tourist state and internal security is an important issue and if incidents like the Sanjauli mosque protest recur, the tourists would be discouraged from coming to the state.

For the unversed, the minister had drawn flack for his earlier comment that it would be mandatory for street vendors, especially those selling food items, to display their identity cards at their shops on the pattern of Uttar Pradesh. The state government had already distanced itself by saying that it had not taken any decision in this regard. Congress general secretary in-charge organisation KC Venugopal had said that the issue has been blown out of proportion and we have appraised the central leaders about the same.

The AICC's Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajiv Shukla said on Thursday maintained that the street vendors will be given licences and regulated so that police do not harass them. The designated places will require identification such as Aadhaar cards and licences but there is no requirement for them to display a sign stating their name as the owner.

Identification of outsiders should be done to know the purpose of the visit in view of the internal security of the state but "we differ from the ideology and working style of the BJP and do not approve of it", Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh, had said on Saturday.