UP govt hits back at Opposition, says 16,415 criminals got bail cancelled

Uttar Pradesh energy minister Shrikant Sharma led the counter-attack on opposition leaders who targeted the Yogi Adityanath government on the law and order situation in the state.

Sharma, who is also the state government’s spokesperson, on Monday said 16,415 criminals and anti-social elements surrendered before the police after getting their bail cancelled.

“Criminals are now walking up to the police and getting themselves arrested. In western UP, there have been several such cases. What does that show?” Sharma asked.

Rebutting the opposition charge of jungle raj in UP, Sharma cited the two ground breaking ceremonies and investments committed by top industry captains as proof of the business community’s growing trust in the state.

“This confidence stems from the massive effort we have made to improve the state’s image from what it was under those who are busy criticising us. Yogi Adityanath government has cracked down on criminals, arresting 9549 of them. Of these, 6214 are hardened criminals; 1384 criminals have been injured in police encounters while 90 of them have been killed in police action,” he said.

“There has been a complete check on organised crime. The government is very serious on this despite the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress attempting to tarnish our image. Under previous governments, the criminals even used to sit just behind the chief minister and hence, their (opposition parties) taking the moral high ground is despicable,” Sharma said.

Minister of state for waqf and Haj Mohsin Raza too targeted the opposition parties, saying they were afraid of the growing popularity of the Yogi Adityanath government.

First Published: Aug 20, 2019 00:12 IST