How law & order has become a headache for Yogi Adityanath govt

Spate of murders over last few days has put a question mark over tall claims of the state government

The smooth sail of the two-month-old Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has hit the first major roadblock on the law and order issue.

This is due to a virtual spineless opposition with strong regional political parties — namely Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) embattling inner struggles and power feud, the Yogi government already started to deftly build its image as a dispensation with zero-tolerance towards corruption and law and order.

However, a spate of murders over the last few days has put a question mark over tall claims of the state government with regards to improving law and order machinery

This comes even as the special session of the UP assembly, convened to pass Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill is underway.

Recently, two jewellers were brazenly shot dead inside a shop in Mathura district and the motorcycle-borne criminals managed to escape unhurt and unchallenged. They are still at large and local traders have intensified their agitation over the incident to highlight criminals having a field day in the state.

Yesterday, a Karnataka cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer Anurag Tiwari was founded dead outside the Lucknow State Guest House, which is located in a posh locality with the UP Director General Police (DGP) office situated less than a kilometre away.

Besides, there have been various incidents of caste conflicts in western UP districts in the past few weeks, which have cast a shadow on the law and order machinery in the state under Yogi government.

Today, the opposition members staged a noisy walkout from the state assembly over the alleged deteriorating law and order situation and lax policing. The opposition members had flagged issues of law and order, besides the mysterious death of the 36-year-old IAS officer yesterday.

In his reply, UP parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna noted the officer’s kin had pointed fingers towards the Congress government in Karnataka and the IAS officer unearthed a scam in the Southern state.

“The government is serious about the issue and the post-mortem was conducted by a panel of four doctors. The deceased’s viscera has been preserved for further investigation,” Khanna said and promised the guilty would not be spared.

However, the entire opposition staged a noisy walkout expressing dissatisfaction over his rejoinder.

Besides, the Yogi government had yesterday transferred 67 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers following growing incidents of crime across the state, which is a sad commentary on policing. 

In the last two months, Yogi has shunted nearly 200 IPS officers in the state in its quest to improve the law and order matrix.

In his public addresses, Yogi has reiterated his government was tough on criminals and such elements no longer enjoyed political patronage. 

The UP chief minister has sought a year’s time to put the law and order back on track. The Yogi ministers have time and again claimed current dispensation inherited dismal law and order machinery.