In a scathing attack on the previous opposition party governments in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that they were sympathisers of rioters and conspired to dismantle the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), which played crucial role in handling communal riots and violence in the state, by abolishing 54 of its companies.

Inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of 144 infrastructural development projects worth Rs 2,310 crore for the Uttar Pradesh Police at a formal ceremony at Lok Bhawan on Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi stressed the crucial role of UP Police in the changed perception of the state.

He remarked: “As a result, Uttar Pradesh has now emerged as the biggest investment destination in the country. The state is experiencing prosperity with the blessings of Goddess Lakshmi. The contribution of UP Police towards the transformation of UP’s image is crucial. Everyone can feel the hard work of UP Police in the state’s changed perception.”

Chief Minister Yogi appreciated the changes in the behaviour of UP Police, pointing out that speaking politely while in uniform has a very positive impact. He emphasised the importance of following zero-tolerance policy towards anti-social and anti-national elements as well as professional mafias, while adopting a sensitive approach towards common citizens and providing justice to them.

Chief Minister Yogi said that Uttar Pradesh had become the first state in the country to have cyber police stations in all 75 districts.

“Initially, cyber police stations were set up in 18 districts, and the remaining 57 are being inaugurated today. Additionally, a cyber cell has been formed at all 1,523 police stations. Now, cyber crime cases will be addressed at the police station level, eliminating the need to go to the zone or range levels,” he stated.

The chief minister congratulated the Home department for the projects worth Rs 2,310 crore connecting the people of the state and the police personnel. “The work to strengthen the infrastructure of the police force in the new Uttar Pradesh of the new India started in 2017 and is progressing well. Prior to that, outsiders were wary of visiting Uttar Pradesh, while the youths of the state fought shy of revealing their true identity as residents of the state,” he remarked.

He added that although new districts were formed, the police lines were not established, thus depriving the state police of its soul.

The chief minister pointed out that in smaller districts today, the tallest buildings belong to the police force, while earlier, they were forced to live in ramshackle buildings with broken beds.

“Till 2017, there were few facilities for the police in the barracks to which they returned after working the whole day or night,” he pointed out. 

He emphasised that now, every police line of each district, or for that matter every police station, boasts of a hostel, construction of which has either been completed or is underway in a high-rise building. He emphasised the importance of fulfilling the needs of police personnel who work 8 to 12 hours, sometimes even 24 hours, serving the people of the state.

He further informed that in the last six years, the government has spent nearly Rs 20,000 crore solely to strengthen the police infrastructure.

Contrasting today’s situation with that of the past in the state, Chief Minister Yogi said that while riots, curfews, insecure traders and daughters were the order in the previous governments, today Uttar Pradesh was poised to become the state with the strongest economy in the country, having brought investments of over Rs 10.24 lakh crores to the ground.

Continuing his attack on the previous governments, the chief minister said that earlier recruitments and promotions were given to policemen as a favour and were not merit-based. 

“But, today more than 1,60,000 police personnel have been recruited through completely fair and transparent means,” he said.

He also highlighted that promotions were given to over one and a half lakh police personnel without any discrimination, adding that the government ensured that they were selected from every district while organising skill training programmes for them.

“Today, we have three times more capacity than what we had till 2017. Within a short time, we will develop additional training capacity in the PAC units in every district. After that, the state will have the capability to provide training to other states and paramilitary forces across the country,” Chief Minister Yogi added.