‘Wrong govt policy…’: BSP supremo Mayawati flags ‘disease of indiscriminate arrest’ in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday (July 20) exhorted party leaders and workers to make full preparations. She also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the "disease of indiscriminate arrest and bail which is becoming almost impossible".  "As far as the upcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are concerned, in both the states, BSP has to make full preparations and then go into the polls and make every effort to live up to the expectations of the party's cadres and supporters,” the BSP chief said as per PTI. 

Addressing a meeting of party office bearers of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab in Lucknow, Mayawati said BSP workers and leaders have to "persevere in the missionary work" without getting distracted by the victory or defeat in the elections. 

Calling for elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Mayawati said the claims of normalcy in the Union Territory by the Central government will be established. "Therefore, as a proof of this, it is necessary that democracy should be restored at the earliest by holding assembly elections there. This will give new confidence to the people and strengthen the claims of the government," a party release quoted the BSP supremo as saying.

On the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati said arresting people under National Security Act (NSA) and "oppressing families has become the new official fashion of repression to cover up the failures" of the government. "At the same time, there is an atmosphere of fear and panic in the entire state due to the wrong government policy of arresting people even on trivial matters while criminals linking themselves with the ruling party are roaming freely. How is it possible to control crime and implement rule of law? The fear of law must be there in all criminals," the former UP Chief Minister said.

Flagging the "disease of indiscriminate arrest", Mayawati said the situation has reached such a "worrying" level that even Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has to warn the country, PTI reported. The BSP chief urged the state government including the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government to bring necessary reforms in their working system as it will be in the country and public interest. 

(With agency inputs)