A war of words has erupted between the Opposition and the ruling political party in Uttar Pradesh over the recent encounter of a criminal, Mangesh Yadav, in Sultanpur.

While the SP and Congress termed it a fake encounter and alleged that the ruling BJP was targeting a particular caste, the BJP, on the other hand, justified the police action and accused the Opposition of trying to protect criminals.

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UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday in Ambedkarnagar that efforts are being made to divide people in the name of caste. “We are bringing development, security, and prosperity whereas the SP and Congress are only concerned about mafias. During the SP rule, mafias used to run parallel governments in every district. Earlier, the mafia did not allow festivals to take place,” he added.

The CM targeted SP President Akhilesh Yadav for his objection to the killing of a criminal accused in the Sultanpur robbery case. He asked, “What would have happened if the criminal who was committing robbery by brandishing a weapon had shot a customer. There could have been a Yadav among the customers?”

CM Yogi further said that there was a whole army of goons in the SP government, and the SP people considered him their disciple. The bigger the goon, the higher the position he gets in the SP.

During the SP government, police used to run while the goons used to chase them. Today, their roles have been reversed. The mafia is running, police are chasing.

Referring to the Sultanpur encounter, he said today, when a dacoit is killed in the state, the SP people get stunned. It seems as if a hand has been placed on his painful nerve. The SP is feeling bad about the death of a dacoit in an encounter.

However, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi wrote on social media that in the BJP-ruled states, the ‘law and constitution’ are being flouted by those who are responsible for their implementation.

“Professional forces like STF are being run like ‘criminal gangs’ under the BJP government, the silence of the Central government on this is their clear agreement on this ‘thoko policy’. Dozens of encounters of UP STF are under question. Has any action been taken against any of those officers till date? After all, who is saving them and why,” he asked.

He further wrote that it is just hypocrisy to salute the Constitution in front of cameras while your own governments are openly flouting it. All suspicious encounters in Uttar Pradesh should be investigated impartially and justice should be done. The blood splatter on the uniform should be clean, Rahul Gandhi demanded.

Meanwhile, SP President and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav contended that due to fake encounters, UP is getting a bad name in the country and the world. “UP is also at the forefront in cases of deaths in police custody and said that no one is happy in the BJP government. Traders and shopkeepers are being looted. Murders are taking place in broad daylight,” he said.

Akhilesh Yadav, while addressing party workers here on Sunday, said the BJP government implicates innocent people in false cases. Even after the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is not desisting from spreading propaganda.

He said the aim is to take the fight for social justice to its final result through PDA. The BJP is a threat to both democracy and the Constitution and intends to destroy social harmony by spreading hatred.