With Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath having expressed concern over law and order on at least three occasions, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, alleging that criminals were “roaming around freely, doing as they like” in UP.
Interestingly, the UP Police immediately jumped in to respond to Priyanka’s allegations and tweeted statistics to show decline in crime in the state.
State Law Minister Brijesh Pathak, when asked about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s remark, asserted that since the formation of the BJP government in the state, the network of criminals had been smashed.
The Congress general secretary wrote on the Twitter, “In entire Uttar Pradesh criminals are roaming around freely, doing whatever they wish. Criminal incidents continue to happen but it has fallen on deaf ears of the BJP government. Has the Uttar Pradesh government surrendered before criminals?”
She also tagged with her tweet news headlines of different crime reports in the state.
Replying to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s tweet, the UP Police tweeted: “UP Police have initiated strict action against accused in serious crimes. In the past two years 9,925 criminals have been arrested and 81 have been killed. In action under NSA (National Security Act), properties worth Rs 200 crore were seized. There has been decline in incidents of dacoity, murder, loot and kidnapping.”
“Visible policing, strong monitoring, effective action against hardened criminals & public interaction has enabled us to win the confidence of people. Crime under all major heads is down by 20-35%. We are committed to the safety and security of citizens of the state,” it added.
Pathak said, “The network of criminals has been smashed in the state. Our government is acting tough on criminals. There are incidents of crime due to enmity and prompt action is taken by police wherever crime is reported.”
The Samajwadi Party too had attacked the BJP government for “spurt in crime” in the state. After a video of two inmates flashing a country-made pistol at Unnao jail went viral on social media, the SP termed the incident as an “open challenge” to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The party alleged that the jails in the state were in the “pocket” of criminals.
