Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday warned top state officials to maintain communal harmony at all costs.
He told a meeting of top administrative and police officials including all district magistrates and district police chiefs, to ensure complete communal harmony in the state and to keep an eye on mischief mongers.He also called for "very tough action against any such element attempting to vitiate the religious harmony by inciting communal passions."
Prominent among others who participated in the chief minister's first law and order review meeting were chief secretary Jawed Usmani and Director General of police A C Sharma.
Making it loud and clear that he would not compromise even a bit on issues relating to law and order the chief minister directed the officials not to desist from taking hard decisions.
He however cautioned police officials to ensure that no deaths took place in police custody, for which the state had earned much notoriety. He also declared 'zero tolerance' to involvement of policemen in criminal or anti-social activities.
Calling for special attention towards safety and security of women, minorities and weaker sections, the chief minister urged security agencies to maintain round the clock vigil against all subversive activities, including terror. He also stressed upon the need for enhancement of security along the long highly porous Indo-Nepal border.
Yadav remained emphatic about the need to build a system where the common citizen felt safe while the anti-social elements were scared of the laws and law enforcement authorities.
"The police should go all out to hound the criminal elements and the mafia gangs under the existing laws, and must also ensure that no harm befell innocent people," he said.
Urging officials to live up to the aspirations of the people , whom he thanked for giving a sweeping mandate to this government, he called upon them to pay attention to the common man's problems and doing all that was possible to help people in distress.
Lamenting over UP's backwardness, he said, "UP's per capita income was far below the national average."
Calling for support from all sections of the society, the chief minister said progress and development would be achieved with a positive mindset and cooperation of everyone so that people can feel the pleasant change.
The resources of the state would have to be increased and explored and utilisation of the central schemes be made to the maximum benefit to ensure all-round development of Uttar Pradesh in the shortest possible time.
"Once our agenda is implemented, living standards of the poor in the state would take a quantum leap, health care sector would ensure good health and other schemes would create all-round development," Yadav said.
He said, "A revenue target of Rs 73,000 crore has been set for the current financial year."
In sharp contrast to his predecessor and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, the new chief minister directed the officials to make it a point to build cordial relations with the central government as also to oversee the qualitative and transparent implementation of all state and centre aided projects.
