Yogi brags about 'peaceful UP' in poll-bound Tripura: Did CM check his facts well?

Contrary to all reports, UP CM Yogi Adityanath during his campaign in Tripura stated that law and order situation has improved in his home state.

Agartala, Feb 13: There is no doubt that Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) desperately wants to win the Tripura Assembly elections 2018 scheduled on Sunday (February 18).

Political pundits have predicted that the BJP and its alliance partner, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), have good chances of winning the elections, the results of which will be declared on March 3.

If the BJP-IPFT alliance comes to power in Tripura it would be a historical moment. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))-led Left Front government is in power in the state since 1993 and defeating the communists in one of their last two bastions (another is Kerala) will be an epoch-making episode in the political journey of India.

In its attempts to create history, the BJP is using all its manpower and machinery to reach out to the voters of the state who are traditionally known to be "left". From Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley to actor-turned-politician Hema Malini, a galaxy of star campaigners visited Tripura in the recent times.

Experts say the top leadership of the BJP reaching out to the masses of Tripura is likely to do wonders for the party's election prospects. Amid all these positive signals for the BJP, on Tuesday, when Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned in Tripura as a part of his two-day visit to the poll-bound state he ended up gloating over his home state's law and order scenario.

"Law and order in UP is under control. Crime against women is minimal. No riots have been reported under the 10-month rule of the BJP. No curfew has been imposed in the state," Yogi was quoted as saying by ANI.

A quick look at the statements made by the UP CM about his state in Tripura seems to be misleading. In fact, on Monday, when Yogi left his home state to campaign in Tripura, the UP Assembly saw pandemonium after the opposition parties raised questions over the state's law and order problem.

"Pandemonium rocked the Legislative Council of the UP legislature on Monday as the budget session resumed after a two-day break. The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators trooped near the Chair's podium alleging that the 'law and order machinery in the state has completely collapsed'," reported IANS.

As a part of the Republic Day celebrations, UP's Kasganj saw communal tension for several days recently which led to the death of a youth too. Curfew was also imposed in Kasganj to bring the situation under control.

On Sunday, a 12-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly raping an eight-year-old girl in UP's Badaun. On a frequent basis, cases of rapes and sexual harassment are reported from UP.

According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), UP is on top of the list of crime against women. UP recorded 14.5 per cent of the total cases of crime against women, it accounted for 12.4 per cent of the total number of rape cases, the NCRB 2017 data said.

On Monday, a group of students shouted slogans, pelted stones and torched a bus in UP's Allahabad city to protest against the death of a 26-year-old Dalit student.

Even Vice President Venkaiah Naidu recently stressed on the need to improve law and order situation in UP.

"I am glad to know that UP is changing policies to attract investment. But law and order should also be improved. Those who have firearms should return the weapons. I want to ask the CM that in UP a large number of people have firearms. This is main cause of crime incidents. If anyone did not have firearms, he will not be harmed," Naidu said at the first UP Diwas event in January.

Recently a Congress delegation met the UP Governor Ram Naik to highlight deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The Congress delegation told Naik that the state is witnessing spike in fake encounters, dacoity, murders and rapes, among others. UP also saw violence before the release of the controversial Bollywood film, Padmaavat.

The BJP formed its government in the state after winning the UP Assembly elections handsomely in March last year. One of the major poll promises of the BJP was to improve law and order situation in the state.

Looking at the state of affairs in UP it looks like nothing has changed much, rather if opposition parties are to be believed things have worsened in the past 10 months.

If these figures and opinions of experts are not enough to highlight the fact that all is not well with UP, CM Yogi should immediately go back to his home state (instead of being busy in campaigning in other states) to known the "home truths" well.

OneIndia News