UP: Opposition targets govt over crime situation

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday questioned the working style of the UP government, saying a worker of his party was held for showing a black flag to CM Yogi Adityanath and later it was claimed that he had a bomb.Mentioning the incident, the Leader of the Opposition said in the state Assembly that when he was a chief minister a man from Ghazipur called him, saying he would kill him.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday questioned the working style of the UP government, saying a worker of his party was held for showing a black flag to CM Yogi Adityanath and later it was claimed that he had a bomb.

Mentioning the incident, the Leader of the Opposition said in the state Assembly that when he was a chief minister a man from Ghazipur called him, saying he would kill him. ''I asked why he wanted to kill me and he told me about some problems of his village, which were solved. I was also shown black flags many a time but I did not take any action,'' he said. Yadav also raised the issue of deaths in police custody.

Earlier during the question hour, SP's Mahendra Nath Yadav and Atul Pradhan questioned the chief minister about the steps taken by the government to prevent incidents of robbery, dacoity and murder in the state.

Pradhan said nowadays police are engaged in demolishing houses, therefore, investigation of cases is not being done properly and asked if the government will constitute a separate police team for investigation. Replying to the remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna claimed that cases of loot, dacoity and murder have come down in the state.

There has been a vast difference in the law and order situation as compared to previous governments from 2007 to 2017, he said.

Khanna also claimed that the National Crime Records Bureau has appreciated Uttar Pradesh for “significant reduction” in crimes. In response to a question by SP legislator Pooja Pal, Khanna said from April, 2019 to March 3, 2022, 11466.98 hectares were freed from encroachers.

He said 21 members of the land mafia are currently lodged in state jails.