Highest number of kidnapping accused lawmakers are from BJP
New Delhi, July 30: At least 16 BJP MPs and MLAs - the highest for any political party in India - have criminal charges related to kidnapping filed against them, according to an analysis of affidavits of 4,867 sitting MPs and MLAs.
The findings were released on Monday by the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO that works for electoral and political reforms.
It said the affidavits of 770 MPs and 4,086 state legislators revealed that 1,024 or some 21 per cent of lawmakers in the country have declared "serious criminal charges against themselves".
Among these, 64 have declared charges related to kidnappings. Of them, 17 belong to various political outfits while 4 are independents.
The BJP tops the list with 16 while the Congress and the RJD are at a distant second with six each.
According ADR, the list contains five NCP lawmakers, four each from the BJD and the DMK, three each from the SP and the TDP as well as two each from the Trinamool Congress, the CPI-M, the CPI-ML and the Shiv Sena.
One each from the Lok Janshakti Party, the JD-U, the TRS and the the Nishad Party in Uttar Pradesh are also in the list.
Of the MLAs with declared charges related to kidnapping, the highest number -- that is nine each -- are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, followed by eight from Maharashtra, six from West Bengal, four each from Odisha and Tamil Nadu, three each from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan and one each from Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Telangana.
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Food adulteration: UP restaurants asked to install CCTVs, eateries to display names of proprietors
Lucknow, Sep 24: Taking cognisance of incidents of spitting and mixing of urine in eatables in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed that the name and address of operators, proprietors and managers should be mandatorily displayed at all food centres.
He also directed that chefs and waiters should wear masks and gloves besides making installation of CCTVs in hotels and restaurants mandatory.
Addressing a high-level meeting here, Adityanath said the presence of human waste in food items was disgusting and ordered strict action against those who adulterate food items with human waste or dirty things, an official statement said.
On September 12, a purported video showing a teenager spitting on rotis while preparing them at an eatery in Saharanpur district went viral on social media, leading to the arrest of the facility's owner.
Last week, a juice vendor in Ghaziabad district was arrested for allegedly serving fruit juices mixed with urine to customers. In June, two men were arrested by police in Noida for allegedly selling juice contaminated with their spits.
In view of such incidents, the chief minister has also given instructions for thorough investigation, verification of all hotels, dhabas, restaurants, and related establishments in the state.
Instructions were also given to amend the rules as per the need while ensuring the health safety of the general public.
Adiyanath said, "Dhabas, restaurants and food establishments should be thoroughly investigated and police verification of every employee should be done and necessary amendments should also be made in the Food Safety and Standards Act to ensure the purity and sanctity of food items."
According to the statement, now it will be mandatory to display the name and address of the operator, proprietor, manager etc. at the food centres.
"Now whether it is a chef or a waiter, they will have to wear masks and gloves and it will be mandatory to install CCTV in hotels/restaurants," the chief minister said.
In the meeting, Adityanath said in recent times, incidents of adulteration of food items like juice, pulses and roti with human waste, and dirty things have been seen in various parts of the country.
"Such incidents are gruesome and have an adverse effect on the health of the common man. Such efforts cannot be accepted at all," he said.
Concrete arrangements are necessary to prevent such incidents in Uttar Pradesh, he said, adding that by running a state-wide intensive campaign, verification of all the employees working there including the operators of these food establishments should be done.
The chief minister said this action should be completed quickly by a joint team of Food Safety and Drug Administration, police and local administration.
Earlier this year, the Uttar Pradesh government had mandated it for food stalls and fruit vendors along Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of shop owners. The government argued the directive, which was criticised by a section of people, was aimed at promoting transparency and informed choice of Kanwariya regarding the food they eat.
