166 criminals killed in police encounters in 5 years, zero tolerance to crime: UP CM Adityanath
Lucknow, Oct 21: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said 166 criminals were killed and 4,453 injured in encounters with Uttar Pradesh Police in the past five years, highlighting his government's zero-tolerance policy on crime.
Thirteen police personnel were also killed and over a thousand suffered injuries between 2017 and 2022, he said during his address at the Police Memorial Day Parade at Reserve Police Lines here.
"I assure the families of the martyred policemen that the government has always been taking all necessary steps with full sensitivity for their welfare and fulfilment of all their needs and will continue to do so," Adityanath said.
Adityanath also announced a monthly motorcycle allowance of Rs 500 for police personnel. Earlier, the government paid Rs 200 as cycle allowance. The allowance is given to all non-gazetted police personnel.
"The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to increase the cycle allowance of Rs 200 given to policemen to Rs 500 (per month) as motorcycle allowance," Adityanath said during his address.
In a press statement, the government said head constables and constables of the police and the Provincial Armed Constabulary would be paid an additional Rs 2,000 annually as phone allowance.
The government will also link the police personnel with an e-pension portal, Adityanath said.
The chief minister added that the Director General of Police (DGP) would now clear medical bills of up to Rs 5 lakh, earlier approved at the government level.
Paying tribute to the personnel who laid down their lives on the line of duty, Adityanath said this was an occasion to express gratitude towards the soldiers of the Army, paramilitary and the police, who work with dedication to maintain the country's security.
"The supreme sacrifice of our brave policemen inspire us to move forward on the path of duty with full devotion, dedication and a sense of responsibility," the chief minister said.
Adityanath also appreciated the efforts of the state police for peacefully conducting the Kumbh Mela and the Lok Sabha elections (both in 2019), the Assembly polls (2022) and the panchayat elections before that. He added that the police's hard work during COVID-19 set a new example of service to humanity.
Working with better strategy and coordination, the state police successfully conducted all the festivals, fairs, processions, rallies and demonstrations in the face of various challenges, he said.
Enumerating the achievements since he took charge of the BJP-led government in the state in 2017, the chief minister said 150,231 candidates, including 22,000 women, were recruited to Uttar Pradesh Police. The recruitment process is going on for 45,689 posts, he added.
The government has taken several historic steps to boost the morale of the force, he said, adding that the police budget had been doubled since the formation of his government.
The police budget in 2017-18 was around Rs 16,115 crore, which increased to about Rs 30,203 crore in 2021-22, the chief minister said. He added that 244 new police stations and 133 new outposts had also been established.
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Post poll TN alliances divided in supporting TVK
Chennai (PTI): In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.
Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government.
Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split.
Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary.
On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated that AIADMK would not support TVK in forming the government.
The AIADMK, which finished third in the elections with 47 seats has cancelled its meeting of MLAs designate on Wednesday amidst a difference in extending external support to the TVK, which won 108 seats, including two seats by its founder Vijay.
As Vijay is gearing up for his swearing-in on May 7, the police have tightened security at his residence here. The party has lodged its MLA-elect at a resort in Mamallapuram and has simultaneously engaged in talks with the Congress and AIADMK, a source said.
The DMK that won 59 seats on its own, has convened a meeting of its newly elected legislators on May 7 evening and the party is likely to elect the youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, who won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni as its legislature party leader.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal admitted that TVK chief Vijay requested the Congress for support to form the government.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj," he said.
Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict, Venugopal said in a statement.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai slammed the Congress decision and said the move to ally with TVK, pledging the support of its five MLAs to the party, was tantamount to "backstabbing the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu."
"They have betrayed the mandate given by the people. Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate has dried, they have chosen to go ahead with this alliance," he told PTI.
The most important question was who took this "foolhardy decision, and how is it going to backfire on the Congress?" he asked.
"I don’t think they had any serious deliberation on this. The larger issue is their opposition to the BJP, which is their ideological enemy. We have supported the Congress throughout. It was our leader M K Stalin, who named Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate when the BJP and RSS were criticising him. And now, within a day, they say they are supporting TVK. This is not the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Saravanan said.
The Congress' exit from its long-standing alliance with the DMK will be a significant moment in the political scenario of the state, commentator and political analyst Sumanth Raman said.
The Congress may be betting on the TVK as a long-term partner option, but that comes with risks, as the TVK is as yet an unknown quantity, he said.
"For the DMK, if the TVK+Congress becomes the choice of the minorities as it well could, it is an existential threat. It was the minority vote that gave the DMK alliance a 12%-15% cushion in the polls. If that goes, their chances of winning drops dramatically," Raman said on 'X.'
The Congress won 5 seats. However, DMK's other allies, the IUML, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) and DMDK have categorically stated that they would not support TVK.
As of now, the TVK requires the support of 11 MLAs to attain a simple majority of 118 to form the government.
The PMK, which won 4 seats and AMMK one - both allies of AIADMK - have not announced their decision yet.
"AIADMK’s real post-result drama may not be outside the party, but inside it. Whispers from the west and north suggest that a Coimbatore hand and a Villupuram voice may soon ask the question everyone is avoiding: Is it time to save the party from the leadership, before the cadre are forced to do it themselves? In politics, coups don’t begin with slogans. They begin with silence, phone calls and “review meetings,” Aspire Swaminathan, who is credited with founding the AIADMK IT wing in 2014, said on 'X.'
He has resigned from the AIADMK in 2021 and now acts an as independent political analyst.
