SP alleges breakdown of law and order, stages walkout in Legislative Council

Samajwadi Party staged a walkout in the Upper House, alleging law and order breakdown in UP, countered by the government claiming zero tolerance for crime.

Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday staged a walkout in the Upper House alleging the breakdown of law and order in the state. While SP members demanded a debate on the issue, the government launched a counterattack claiming that law and order were its guarantee unlike the SP, which patronised criminals.

While SP members demanded a debate on the issue, the government launched a counterattack. (PTI)

Moving the adjournment motion, SP members, including Lal Bihari Yadav, Rajendra Chaudhary, Dr Man Singh Yadav, Mukul Yadav, Ashutosh Sinha, Mohammad Jasmeer Ansari, Balram Yadav and Kiran Pal Kashyap, alleged that law and order had broken down and a ‘jungle raj’ had replaced the rule of law in the state ever since the BJP came to power in 2017.

They mentioned some specific crime incidents to corroborate their claims.

Belting out figures, the leader of the opposition Lal Bihari Yadav claimed that crimes against women had risen in the state.

“In the last 43 days, as many as 210 rape incidents took place in the state,” he said referring to the state crime records bureau data.

He also said that despite the Supreme Court’s tough observations, bulldozers were being used to demolish innocent people’s property without following the due procedure of law.

Rebutting the charges as baseless, leader of the house and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said law and order could never be the SP’s subject because the party always patronised criminals.

“Law and order are our government’s guarantee and we have zero tolerance towards criminals,” he said. Maurya said that the migration of Hindus, which was so rampant in western UP, stopped in 2017.

Dissatisfied with the government’s response, all SP members staged a walkout. Chairman Kunwar Manvendra Singh rejected the adjournment motion but referred the matter to the government for necessary action.