Lucknow: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath government alleging that criminals are “roaming around freely, doing as they like” in Uttar Pradesh, drawing quick retort from the police, which claimed decline in crime in the state.
State Law Minister Brijesh Pathak, when asked about Priyanka Gandhi’s remarks, asserted that since the formation of BJP government in the state, network of criminals has been broken.
The Congress general secretary wrote on Twitter, “In entire Uttar Pradesh criminals are roaming around freely, doing whatever they wish. Criminal incidents continue to happen but it has fallen on deaf ears of the BJP government. Has the Uttar Pradesh government surrendered before criminals?”
She also tagged along with her tweet news headlines of different crime reports in the state. Replying to Priyanka Gandhi’s tweet, the UP police wrote on Twiter, “UP police has initiated strict action against in serious crimes. In the past two years 9,925 criminals were arrested and 81 killed. In action under NSA (National Security Act), property worth Rs 200 crores were seized. There has been decline in incidents of dacoity, murder, loot and kindapping.”
“Visible policing, strong monitoring, effective action against hardened criminals & public interaction has enabled us to win the confidence of people. Crime under all major heads is down by 20-35%. We are committed to the safety and security of citizens of the state,” it added.
Pathak said, “The network of criminals has been broken in the state. Our government is acting tough on criminals. There are incidents of crime due to enmity and prompt action is taken by police wherever crime is reported.”
The Samajwadi Party too had attacked the BJP government for “spurt in crime” in the state. After a video of two inmates flashing a country-made pistol at the Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao jail went viral on social media, the Samajwadi Party termed the incident an “open challenge” to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The party alleged the jails in the state were in the “pocket” of criminals.
