Akhilesh Yadav flays BJP for ‘poor law and order’ in UP

Lucknow, April 26 (IANS) Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday attacked the state government led by Yogi Adityanath and said the law and order situation in the state is not good.

At the receiving end on the issue of law and order during his five years in office, Akhilesh Yadav alleged that under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime, crime had soared and law and order was in bad shape.

Referring to the attack on the Saharanpur SSP’s house some time back by a mob led by a BJP MP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) national President also said that it was a litmus test for the ruling party and every person was waiting to see whether the Chief Minster would crack the whip on such lumpen elements in the ruling dispensation.

"We have also been in power…my photograph would be posted on TV channels with any and every news on crimes in the state. Now let me see how many journalists would now dare to show the present Chief Minister’s picture while showing such news," he said in an apparent reference to the media.

"We were called names, referred to as a party of goons who ran police stations… What will the BJP leaders call the present situation when officials are being terrorised by its cadres?" he said.

Terming the Chhattisgarh massacre of CRPF jawans by Maoists as unfortunate, the 44-year-old SP leader also demanded that the central government prepare a roadmap to end this menace and save innocent lives.

He again questioned the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and said that questions were being asked on why despite support for other parties, all machines were popping out the BJP symbol of lotus, during counting.

In the past, too, Akhilesh Yadav had raised questions over EVMs, especially after the rout of his party in the 2017 state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.