In his first public reaction to the death of Shahjahanpur journalist Jagendra Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that the guilty would not be spared.
Jagendra Singh was allegedly set ablaze by five policemen in his Avas Vikas Colony residence at Shahjahanpur on June 1. Minister of State for Backward Classes Welfare Ram Murti Singh Verma and four others have been named in the FIR for their alleged complicity. While the policemen have been suspended, no action has been taken against the Minister and the others.
“An impartial probe will be conducted and strict action taken [against the guilty],” Mr. Yadav told journalists after the launch of a news portal, upnews360.in, and a website for Shravan Yatra here on Saturday.
Mr. Yadav did not give a direct answer to a question on his government’s stand on International Yoga Day being observed on Sunday. He indicated that it should not be made mandatory.
He said a yoga session was conducted recently in Lucknow for State officials by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The event could not be branded, nor could it be marketed, he said.
Earlier, launching the news portal and the website and releasing Socialist Factor , a monthly news magazine, Mr. Yadav said that today, it was the branding and marketing of products that mattered. The Samajwadi Party had always championed the cause of the poor and farmers. Referring to his party’s opposition to the use of English, he said the ‘Samajwadis’ were not against English, “but it should not be associated with samman [prestige] and should not be used in routine official work.”
The news portal will enable the people to access government schemes and policies. It will be regularly updated with news and events from the districts. The Shravan Yatra website (www.samajwadishravanyatra.upgov.info) will help devotees make online bookings for travel to religious places.
