Putting the blame on previous governments for the poor law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that he inherited "jungle raj" and it will take some time to establish rule of law in a "big state" like UP.
"Uttar Pradesh is a big state. When we took over, we inherited jungle raj, lawlessness. But yes incidents have taken place. But incidents came to light very soon and we swiftly put an end to that. Will establish rule of law in the state," the Chief Minister was quoted as saying by ANI.
Yogi, who is on two-day visit to Varanasi, blamed "conspiracies" for the vitiation of the peaceful atmosphere in the state where the law and order situation has deteriorated and Saharanpur has been witnessing repeated caste-based clashes.
Addressing a public meeting here in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, Adityanath said law and order was priority of his government. He said his government was making all out efforts to restore law and order and bring out the state from a situation of "jungle-raj" and lawlessness.
He sought to assure the people of the state that his government would ensure their safety and will act strongly against those taking law into their hands.
"Our government vows to provide safety to 22 crore people of the state," he said.
"Efforts are being made to restore law and order and bring out the state from the 'jungle-raj', mafia and 'goonda raj'. But you must have seen that wherever these efforts were visible, at the same time conspiracy was hatched to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere," the Chief Minister said.
He said that those hatching conspiracies and taking law into their hands will be dealt sternly. "They will not be spared," he said, apparently pointing towards the Saharanpur incidents.
Adityanath, who became the chief minister two months back, has been under severe attack over the increasing number of crimes. Besides, Saharanpur has been witnessing caste-based clashes over the last several days.
The chief minister inaugurated a three-day exhibition highlighting achievements of the BJP-led NDA government at the centre on the completion of its three years in office.
He praised Modi for delivering a "corruption-free rule" and criticised the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government for its "vast corruption" during its 10-year rule.
"They (Congress) indulged in corruption everywhere from land to sky," Adityanath alleged.
The CM asserted that by June 15, UP will be free from the pot-holed roads and even work on electrification was being carried out on a war footing.
(With PTI inputs)
