Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Sunday blamed the “very poor” law and order in the State for the increasing incidents of communal clashes.
“The law and order situation is very poor in the State ... I have requested the Chief Minister [Akhilesh Yadav] that it should be improved. The communal disturbances which are happening are due to bad law and order situation,” Mr. Naik told the media after inaugurating a cultural festival at Orai town in Uttar Pradesh.
Starting with the public lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri early this month, the State saw over half a dozen major clashes alone. On October 24, two police officials were injured when communal clashes broke out after posters of Bhagwati Jagaran were found to be torn. The local administration had to impose Section 144 in the area to ensure peace. The area is tense even on Sunday.
Early this week, two members of majority community were killed in a communal clash in Kannauj during a Durga idol immersion procession. The city, represented in Parliament by Dimple Yadav, wife of Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, continues to be tense even as the BSF and the PAC personnel staged a flag march amid imposition of Section 144.
The adverse comments came after series of confrontations between the Raj Bhavan and the Samajwadi Party government over a variety of issues including over the choice of Lokayukta. While the State government insisted on a particular name, Mr. Naik refused to clear the chosen candidate on the pretext that there was no consensus in the Lokayukta selection committee.
Besides, the Governor is yet to approve five names for the candidature of the Legislative Council. The State government repeatedly insisted on clearing the names but Mr. Naik expressed reservations over the candidates fulfilling the criteria in the respective categories for which they were nominated.
Complaint to PMSP supremo Mulayam Singh reportedly complained against the Governor when he last met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
