Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Wednesday held a meeting with senior police officers to review the law and order situation in the state. Uttar Pradesh police has been in the news of late over the arrests of several journalists. The BJP came to power in 2017 promising an end to the ‘gunda raj’, which it accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of promoting.
ThePrint asks: Has Yogi govt failed to keep its promise of cleaning up law & order in Uttar Pradesh?
Yogi Adityanath has told UP police to take swift action even against smallest of crimes
Chandra Mohan
Spokesperson, BJP UP
There is no doubt that the law and order situation has improved in Uttar Pradesh. UP was earlier known for crimes like extortion, land grabbing, and political protection being given to criminals. But today, that is no longer true. Organised crimes have been wiped out of Uttar Pradesh.
I believe it’s wrong and unfair to put all crimes under one category. Some rage-driven crimes may still be prevalent in UP, but soon they will be under control too. As far as the UP police is concerned, they are working relentlessly towards putting criminals behind bars. Police action is being taken on every case that gets reported.
Criminals in UP are no longer being let off easy and are being treated in the strictest manner possible. The police are actively filing cases of crimes against women and Dalits, which previously didn’t happen.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath too has addressed the UP police and told them to take swift action against the smallest crimes that get reported. Even if crimes are taking place, reporting and police patrolling are increasing.
Cannot think of even one section of society that feels safe in Uttar Pradesh today
Rajeev Rai
Spokesperson, Samajwadi Party
The state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh at the moment gives the impression that Yogi Adityanath’s government is going to break all records of poor law and order. The thok do (shoot them) politics prevalent in Uttar Pradesh is highly unbecoming of a democracy like India.
When the head of the government sends out only wrong signals, then obviously the negligent police officers and criminals will feel encouraged. I cannot think of one section of society that feels safe in Uttar Pradesh today. If you look at the government data, the atrocities against women have not gone down, but ‘the jungle and balatkaar raj’ has taken over.
I feel Yogi’s BJP is neither fit to be in the government nor in temples. They make promises and fail to fulfill them, and then divert the focus from those promises. The Adityanath government may have been successful with its diversionary tactics in the past, the people can now see it has failed on all fronts – jobs, development, investment, and law and order.
The Adityanath government works with the sole mindset of getting votes; they do not care about issues like unemployment or lack of growth. The government must remember that people going hungry do not think about loyalty.
Also read: A tight slap on ‘Taliban-style’ Yogi govt, says UP opposition as Prashant Kanojia gets bail
Law and order situation has improved in Uttar Pradesh, but corruption is still a concern
Atul
Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh Police
There are two major issues that concern Uttar Pradesh – law and order situation, and corruption. I believe the law and order situation has improved in Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government, but corruption is still a concern.
Communal riots and hate crimes have become fewer. But corruption and crimes against women continue. The Yogi government needs to find a way to effectively counter these.
As far as politically motivated killings are concerned, they aren’t a new phenomenon in Uttar Pradesh. And, the police need to do more to earn people’s trust. They need to prove that they are unbiased and not influenced by any political party.
Slackness in registering cases should be checked. The Yogi government had put a lot of emphasis on addressing this issue when it came to power. Because the police are not quick to register a case in the initial stage, it becomes a problem in the later stages of investigation. The murder of the 2-year-old in Aligarh is an example of this.
Adityanath government works with one mindset: teach anyone who disagrees a lesson
Rajeev Yadav
General Secretary, Rihai Manch
Uttar Pradesh lacks an effective governance model under the Yogi Adityanath government. While the chief minister keeps claiming that the law and order situation has improved in the state, Muslims, Dalits and OBCs continue to be at the receiving end of horrific crimes. Moreover, those killed in encounters also belong to these marginalised sections. Do only these communities produce criminals? But it is not just them – anyone who disagrees with, or actively opposes the BJP’s ideology, is unsafe in Uttar Pradesh under Adityanath’s rule.
Yogi Adityanath is so bothered about his reputation that one tweet about him by a journalist gets the journalist arrested. But he isn’t bothered by issues that actually matter – thethrashing of Kashmiri fruit sellers by local goons is a case in point. The goons were rewarded in the form of an exclusive meeting with the chief minister. Is that how one maintains law and order? Anti-Romeo squads were introduced under this government, and they are set to return.
Law and order went for a toss the day Yogi Adityanath started his “thok do” politics. People like Prashant Kanojia and Vivek Tiwari become victims of such politics. The Adityanath government only works with one mindset – teach anyone who disagrees a lesson.
Also read: Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh’s lonely prince, is paying for his audacity
For a party that came to power promising end to gunda raj, Yogi govt has created own Frankenstein’s monster
Aditi Vatsa
Special correspondent, ThePrint
In March this year, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath had claimed that law and order in the state had become a model for the entire country. Three months later, it is this very issue which has come back to haunt his government. While the CM’s claims might seem true when one sees increased patrolling with ‘Dial 100’ vans and motorbikes being spotted regularly on UP streets, people know safety in the state is selective and comes at a cost.
For a party that came to power with the promise to end gunda raj, its government seems to have created a Frankenstein’s monster, which is spinning out of control.
The monster was created when the Yogi government hastened to change law and order in the state. It was created when 69 alleged criminals were gunned down in ‘encounters’ with the police, when its Anti-Romeo Squads cracked down on unsuspecting individuals in the name of preventing sexual harassment and let them off only after a dose on morality and when a lynching victim kin was allegedly forced to write a false police report in Hapur.
The monster showed its fangs when an Apple executive was gunned down allegedly by cops last year, when a Bulandshahr police inspector was lynched by a mob angered about alleged inaction in a cow slaughter case and more recently, when a journalist was thrashed, urinated upon and put behind bars in Shamli.
The past ten days have seen the UP police department going into an over-drive, arresting at least six persons, including journalists, for posting “objectionable” remarks on social media. At the same time, the state was witnessing a slew of crimes against young girls and a group of Noida cops were arrested for their alleged involvement in an extortion racket. As protectors become perpetrators in UP, the need to contain trigger-happy police force and sensitise them is greater than ever.
By Fatima Khan, journalist at ThePrint.
Law and order was low hanging fruit for the new state government – whose head was nominated, not elected – to assert its authority and credentials of good governance. The deaths of infants and children in the Gorakhpur government hospital – for want of oxygen cylinders, since the supplier had not been paid for months – and the hounding of the conscientious Dr Kafeel were early indications that the new administration was not measuring up. The case of MLA Sengar, continuing crimes against women, now this spate of wrongful acts against journalists, UP continues to disappoint.