Removed jungle raj, not a single incident of riots: Yogi on 6 months in office

Claiming that his government has removed 'jungle raj' from Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said there has not been a single incident of riot in the state during the last six months he has been in power.

"After March 2017, there has not been a single incident of riot. Prior to that, we had seen cases of riots taking place in the state ... Earlier on an average, two riots took place on a weekly basis," he told a press conference where he released a 58-page report card on completion of six months in office.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had stormed to power in Uttar Pradesh in the assembly elections with a massive majority following which Adityanath took over on March 19.

In the 403-member assembly, the BJP and its allies have 325 seats.

Taking a jibe at the previous dispensation, the chief minister said, "It was our priority to rid UP of jungle raj. I am happy that hard work by ministers has instilled a sense of confidence in the people."

He said, "The police have been working successfully... 431 encounters with notorious criminals took place during this period in which 17 criminals were killed and 1,106 arrested, besides properties of 69 criminals were confiscated."

While 88 jawans were injured in encounters, a sub- inspector died in the course of duty, he said.

Listing out key initiatives, Adityanath said his government would launch a systematic drive to help retrieve 1,000 hectares of land in the grip of land mafia for years.

Stressing that his government was keeping a close watch to ensure Jawahar Bagh kind of violence did not recur, he said that an anti-land mafia force has been set up in the state.

Two policemen and 22 squatters were killed in clashes on June 2 last year at the Jawahar Bagh public park in Mathura.

Noting that his government has started a system to provide tube-wells and solar pumps to farmers, Adityanath claimed it was the first time a record wheat procurement of 37 lakh metric tonnes was made directly from the growers without any role of middleman and the payment was made in their bank accounts.

He criticised his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav for questioning the loan waiver scheme of his government.

Asked to comment on Yadav posting on his Twitter account a certificate of a farmer whose loan of one paisa has been waived, he said, "I think Akhlieshji must not even be knowing the definition of farmers because of the ancestry that he belongs to...

"Rather than tweeting, he should look at the process of loan waiver of 11 lakh farmers which has been started."

He said there were 11 lakh farmers whose loans were meant to be waived. "Of them, only 4,000 farmers have loans less than Rs.10,000... He (Akhilesh) should look at the 10.96 lakh farmers," he said, adding that those who cleared the dues would be honoured.

Alleging that casteism and family politics have harmed the social fabric of the state, Adityanath said irregularities had prevailed in recruitment and almost 1.50 lakh police posts were lying vacant as the Supreme Court had put a stay on it.

"Now we have created an atmosphere and the process to make 47,000 recritments has been started. In the coming three years, we will be successful in filling 1.50 lakh vacant posts," he said.

In other departments also, recruitment will be done in a transparent manner to help the youth get jobs, he said, adding that six lakh youth got registeration for employment and self-employment through different programmes of skill development, vocational education and technical education departments.

The government plans to take the figure to ten lakhs this year, he said.

Holding that the state has a huge potential in the tourism sector, he said a road map has been prepared for it.

Ayodhya Ram Lila, which was stopped by the previous government, has been restarted, he said.

From October one, the secretatiat will be e-linked and the same will be done at district headquarters from November, the chief minister said.

He said most of the cases of violence in villages took place because of fraud in revenue records and if permission was granted 'khasra-khatauni' (land) records will be linked with with Aadhaar cards.

He said four districts -- Shamli, Hapur, Bijnore and Ghazibad -- have been made open defecation free during this period.

Adityanath said over 37 lakh complaints were received in the Chief Minister's Office of which 34 lakh had been disposed of.

"This was not done in 15 years and it proves the senstivity of our government," he said.

On the power front, he said the situation is better than before.

Adityanath also said his government has been successful in preventing spread of encephalitis in the state and added that the number of deaths had dropped considerably compared to previous years.

IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharmareleasing a booklet on completion of six months in office in Lucknow on Tuesday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo