How Opposition parties reacted to Atiq Ahmed's killing

The opposition parties have come down heavily on the Yogi Adityanath's UP government after the mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed on Saturday while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.

Akhilesh Yadav, SP chief and Opposition Leader in UP Assembly said that crime has reached its peak in the state and the morale of the criminals is high. "When someone can be killed by firing openly amidst the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public. Due to this, an atmosphere of fear is being created among the public, it seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere," he wrote on Twitter.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her shock over the incident.

"I am shocked by the brazen anarchy and total collapse of law & order in Uttar Pradesh. It is shameful that perpetrators are now taking the law in their own hands, unfazed by the police and media presence. Such unlawful acts have no place in our constitutional democracy," tweeted the West Bengal CM.

Days after Atiq Ahmed's son Asad was killed in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi, the two brothers were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college here for a checkup.

In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the rule of law as laid down in our country's Constitution is paramount.

"Criminals should be given the harshest punishment, but it should be under the law of the land. Subverting or violating the rule of law and judicial process for any political purpose is dangerous for our democracy," Ramesh said.

"Whoever does this, or gives protection to those who do such acts, should also be held responsible and the law should be strictly enforced on them," he said.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said stringent action should be taken against those involved in the incident.

"Jungle Raj under BJP Yogi govt in UP. Its USP: Encounter killings, Bulldozer politics & patronising criminals. Enforce rule of law; apprehend perpetrators & punish them stringently," he said in a tweet

TMC MP Mouha Moitra said the country has been turned into "mafia raj".

"BJP has turned India into a mafia republic. I will say it here, I will say it abroad, I will say it everywhere because it is the truth. 2 men in custody shot dead in front of a zillion policemen & cameras - this is the death of the rule of law," she said.

Moitra also said that she can even believe that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got the shooting done simply to "deflect attention" from repercussions to the Satyapal Malik interview.

"Nothing, just nothing, is beyond this government," she said.

Former UP CM and BSP chief the incident raises serious question marks about the rule of law in the state.

"Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were brought from Bareilly jail, were shot dead openly in police custody in Prayagraj last night, just like the heinous murder of Umesh Pal. raises serious question marks," she tweeted.

"It would be better if the honorable Supreme Court itself takes cognizance of this very serious and very worrisome incident which is discussed all over the country and takes appropriate action. Anyway, instead of "Rule of law by law" in Uttar Pradesh, now how appropriate is it to become an encounter state? Something to think about," the leader added.