Lucknow, February 24: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the Congress of extending protection to criminals in Punjab and said there is no place for such elements in the state and the law will deal with them in an appropriate manner.

His remarks came on a day his government told the Supreme Court that the Punjab government is "shamelessly" protecting gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is lodged in Rupnagar district jail in an extortion case since January 2019, by not sending him to Uttar Pradesh where he is wanted in multiple cases. Religious Conversion Bill 2021 Passed in Uttar Pradesh Assembly by Voice Vote.

Without naming Ansari, Adityanath said, "Everyone can see that a mafia of the state has been provided security. The matter is in the Supreme Court. There is no place for criminals in the state and the law will deal with it in an appropriate manner."

"Why this large-heartedness for criminals and mafia?" he asked. "Giving protection to the mafia is like joining their misdeeds. There is also an effort to interfere in the working of the judiciary," he added. The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by the Uttar Pradesh government seeking Ansari's custody.

The BJP-led government has also sought a direction to transfer the criminal proceedings and trial in the extortion case against Ansari in Punjab to the special court in Allahabad.

During the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ansari, said he (Ansari) was a "small fry" being cornered by the "might of the state". Adityanath claimed cases of crimes like murder, robbery and kidnapping have come down in the state since his government came to power in 2017.

As compared to 2016, dacoity cases have come down by 67.68 per cent, robbery cases 66.39 per cent, murder cases 25.88 per cent, riots 30.25 per cent, and kidnappings 41.51 per cent, he said.

The chief minister underlined that women's safety is the top priority of his government and slammed the opposition for indulging in slanderous politics over the Unnao incident wherein two teenage Dalit girls were found dead and one unconscious in a field in the district last week after they were poisoned.

"We have to think seriously. There are many issues on which politics can be done but doing politics on women and sisters is not at all appropriate," he said. Two persons have been arrested in connection with the Unnao case. One of the accused had developed one-sided love for one of the girls, the police had said.

On Ayodhya, Adityanath said after the construction of the Ram temple, the city will emerge as one of the best tourist attractions in the world. "Ayodhya is a matter of national pride for all of us. Ram is revered all over the world...," he said.

Speaking about Uttar Pradesh's fight against coronavirus, Adityanath said it has been won with everybody's cooperation. He claimed Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a leading state in the management of the pandemic.

Migrants who passed through Uttar Pradesh while returning to their native states have said that if they received food anywhere on their way home it was in this state, he said.

Adityanath also alleged that in Delhi, as soon as lockdown was imposed, power and water connections of migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were cut, and attempts made to forcibly throw them out.

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