Akhilesh Yadav shares video of UP cop slapping street vendor, takes swipe at BJP

Pointing at the incident, the former UP chief minister questioned the Yogi Adityanath-led state government about the BJP's ‘ease of doing business’ intiative.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has been actively going toe-to-toe with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government over the law and order situation among other issues. He recently posted a video on Twitter, in which a policeman was seen slapping a street vendor. Yadav claimed that the cop in the video belongs to Uttar Pradesh Police and questioned how the state's ‘ease of doing business’ initiative is taking shape.

Screengrabs of video that shows UP cop slapping the street vendor. (Twitter)

In the video, two street vendors could be seen crossing a road with their carts. Meanwhile, a cop is seen walking towards them and slapped one of two vendors.

“Look at the public atrocities of the UP police, which is termed as ‘Amrit-Kaal’ by the ruling party. Is this the proof of 'ease of doing business' in UP?” he asked in his tweet, which is losely translated from Hindi.

Responding to Yadav's tweet, the Lucknow Police said the video was taken at 2:30 am and the food sellers stationed their hand drawn carts at an important intersection in an unauthorised manner. It said that a mobile team reached the site after being informed about the unauthorised installation of carts. The Police said it will identify the inspector in question and take appropriate action against him.

Yadav earlier said that his party will challenge the might of BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and added that SP will lead Uttar Pradesh's opposition alliance in the general election.