Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday claimed in the state assembly that there is an attempt to instigate sections of society over the citizenship law and accused some people of speaking Pakistan's language.
Under flak from the opposition over the shooting in a Bijnor court that killed an undertrial on Tuesday, Adityanath launched a counterattack against the Opposition, saying the Samajwadi Party and crime are "inseparable" (choli-daman ka saath).
Minutes after his statement, another minister targeted opposition parties over their own record on law and order, triggering a furore that lead to the adjournment of the House for the entire day.
Adityanath termed as unfortunate the Bijnor attack and the recent case in Unnao where a rape victim woman was set ablaze.
In a reference to protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said there is mischief on to create disturbances.
He claimed the name of a political party and an MLA has surfaced in the violence at New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi.
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"Some people go about speaking the language of Pakistan on CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and this should not be accepted," he said, triggering loud protests from the Opposition benches.
He claimed there is an attempt to instigate certain sections of society on the issue by misleading them and said such people need to be exposed.
There have been clashes between the police and students at Aligarh Muslim University and violence at some other places over the amendment that allows citizenship rights to non-Muslim refugees who came to India before 2015 from three neighbouring countries.
"The Unnao case and Bijnor are unfortunate. The government is working seriously on issues relating to crime against women. Incidents like Bijnor will also not be tolerated," the chief minister said.
"We have prepared a work plan for the security at courts and the judiciary, he said.
We are duty bound to ensure the security of every institution and citizen, but anarchy will not be tolerated," he said.
The CM was speaking against the admissibility of an adjournment notice by the Opposition parties on the Bijnor courtroom attack.
Earlier, the Question Hour was derailed in both Houses of the Uttar Pradesh legislature with a determined Opposition trying to raise the Bijnor attack and crime against women.
The SP and the Congress members had then raised slogans from the well of the House. Congress members also sported black bands.
The chief minister accused the opposition SP of being inseparable from crime.
Dono ke beech choli-daman ka sambandh hai," he said, using a Hindi proverb.
Adityanath claimed no riot had taken place during the term of his Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, and major events like the Kumbh Mela had passed off peacefully.
He cited figures indicating that crime has come down in the state. "The opposition should learn to accept facts and the truth," he said.
Crime against women is a matter of concern to all but it should not be viewed through the prism of politics, he said.
He attacked SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for opposing anti-Romeo squads to check harassment of women, and strong action against criminals.
"When notorious criminals are killed, candle marches are taken out and the government is cornered in court. We are experiencing this," he said.
In the Unnao case, he said all the five culprits who set the rape victim on fire were promptly arrested.
On the Mainpuri case, in which a Navodaya Vidyalaya student died under mysterious circumstances and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi wrote to him, he said the district magistrate and the superintendent of police have been taken to task.
Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary called the CM's statement an illogical discourse", contesting his allegations against the SP.
He then took a dig over the withdrawal of a case against Adityanath.
"There is no CM who has ever withdrawn a case against himself. UP stands first in crime," he said.
When senior minister Swami Prasad Maurya's retorted that the SP has forgotten what it did during its own term, Opposition members came to the Well shouting slogans. The House was then adjourned for the House.
In the Upper House as well, there were noisy scenes over the Bijnor shootout.
The opposition had also forced adjournment of the two Houses on Tuesday, the opening day of the Winter Session of the state legislature, on various issues.