Lucknow, Mar 19: Hitting back at the Opposition over its charge of deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said his government's zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals has shown positive results in the past four years.

"The result of the zero-tolerance policy has been that when compared to the figures of 2016-2017, there has been a fall of 65.72 per cent in cases of dacoity; 66.15 per cent in cases of loot; 19.80 per cent in cases of murder and 45.43 per cent in cases of rape in the state," the chief minister said at a press conference on completion of four years of his government.

Claiming that the perception of the state has changed during the past four years and it has emerged as the best destination for investments, Adityanath said it has been possible because of his government's "performance on all fronts", especially law and order. Yogi Adityanath Turns Sugarcane into 'Green Gold' in Uttar Pradesh.

"While earlier no one wanted to come to the state because of a sense of insecurity, there is no fear now. It is also an achievement that all festivals have been celebrated peacefully and no riot has taken place in the state. Earlier, however, the scene was different. Our government has also taken strict action against professional criminals, mafia elements and others harming peace and this has also set a norm in the country," the chief minister said.

To a question, he said his government has acted on the policy of zero-tolerance in the best interest of the people of the state as "a criminal is a criminal and it is also said that he does not belong to any caste or community".

The chief minister said his government has worked in all sectors and for all sections of society be it farmers, women and youth, and added that over four lakh jobs have been provided in a free and fair manner with transparency.

"It is because of the concerted efforts that Uttar Pradesh has come out of the 'BIMARU' state category and become a capable and efficient state and as a leading economy in the country," he said, exuding confidence that the foundation has been laid for achieving the target of becoming the biggest economy of the country with a little more effort.

He also elaborated on the work done by his government and how the state performed well in implementing the central government schemes, which the earlier government "preferred to ignore because of their mindset".

"While the Uttar Pradesh government's COVID-19 management was praised at the national level, the World Health Organization (WHO) also appreciated it.

Apart from working to strengthen the health infrastructure, especially in the times of COVID-19, the process of increasing facilities for the common man and laying a network of better roads has sped up. The road infrastructure has been strengthened through the construction of five new expressways," Adityanath said.

The chief minister also released a book "Dashko mein jo na ho paya- chaar varsh mein kar dikhaya" on four years of his government, and a short film was also played on the occasion.

Senior members of his Cabinet, including Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma were also present on the occasion.