On completing four-and-a-half years in power, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on September 19 said that his tenure would be remembered as a “memorable” one in the history of the State from the point of security and good governance, and that it was looked upon as a “model” by the rest of the country and the world.
Making public his government’s ‘report card’ at a press conference here ahead of next year’s Assembly polls, the Chief Minister hit out at the opposition. Targeting previous governments, especially the Samajwadi Party rule from 2012-2017, Mr. Adityanath said earlier “professional criminals and mafia used to create an atmosphere of fear and terror and spread lawlessless” under the patronage of power.
U.P. had the reputation of being ‘ danga pradesh (riot province)’ , he said, claiming that under Akhilesh Yadav there was a big riot in the State every three or four days. In contrast, he claimed, there had been zero riots in U.P. since 2017.
‘150 shot dead’
Since March 2017, 150 suspected criminals were shot dead in alleged exchange of fire, termed “encounters” by the State, while 3,427 others were injured, said a booklet released by the government on the occasion. The government also said that it had arrested 44,759 persons under the Gangsters Act, booked 630 under the National Security Act and seized and demolished property belonging to alleged mafia dons worth ₹1,886 crore.
The government said it had dragged U.P. out of the “BIMARU” tag and given it a label of prosperity.
Mr. Adityanath said his government took “tough action within the law” against criminals and mafia irrespective of their caste, religion or region.
In the booklet, the government also highlighted that it had put up hoardings of those accused of violence and damaging property during the protests against CAA and NRC in 2019 and recovered damages from them, and that it had shut down “illegal slaughterhouses” and brought in a new law against illegal conversion of religion.
The government also listed the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, with an image of Ram Lalla, and the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor in Varanasi among its achievements.
The State government also claimed that it had made a record payment of ₹1.44 lakh crore to 45.44 lakh sugarcane farmers, while reducing the unemployment rate in the State from 17.5% to 4.1%.
