LUCKNOW, 23 May 2007 — The Uttar Pradesh Assembly was adjourned yesterday on the second day of the three-day session after the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators created chaos shouting slogans against Gov. T.V. Rajeshwar objecting to his remarks against the SP during his address to the joint session of the legislature on Monday.
The angry SP and BJP legislators crowded in front of the speaker’s chair taking strong exception to the remarks of the governor. The deputy leader of theSP Azam Khan and BJP member Hukum Singh demanded that the governor’s remarks that the previous SP government was “unconstitutional” be expunged.
Khan asked, “How can the governor term a government ‘unconstitutional’ when the governor himself had addressed a similar joint session of the previous government.”
In his address, the governor had termed the former Mulayam Singh government as “unconstitutional” stating that it was formed by splitting political parties. Lalji Varma, the parliamentary affairs minister then rejected the opposition’s demand stating that there was nothing “unconstitutional” in the governor’s address.
Rajeshwar in his speech had mentioned that an atmosphere of “anarchy” prevailed during the four year of SP regime. The Leader of the Opposition Mulayam Singh Yadav and the entire Opposition leaders kept their cool as the Governor ridiculed the previous SP government.
Coming down harshly on the previous Mulayam Singh government, Rajeshwar said “ Corruption and Bribery reached the climax. Middlemen and Contractors with criminal records remained powerful over development programs and transfers of officials. Innocent people of the state had to bear the brunt of it,” he said.
Stating that the clear verdict was given by the people in the assembly polls against terror, crime and corruption and for the first time after a lapse of 16 years the BSP government was committed to rule of law, he the Governor said.
Strong action under the National Security Act (NSA), Goon Act and Gangster Act would be initiated against persons with criminal records and no security would be provided tot hem. The BSP government would confiscate all the illegal properties of the goons and mafia and break their economic backbone, Rajeshwar said.
Not sparing the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, the Governor referring to the commercial advertisements featuring Bachchan in which the superstar praised the Mulayam government by saying “ UP has the strength, as crime here is less,” ridiculed it by stating that the commercial advertisement by Bachchan was a “crude joke” and that the advertisement was an insult inflicted on the people by claiming that there was less crime in Uttar Pradesh. In reality, when the advertisement was aired, corruption and bribery were at peak in the state,
The Governor further said that the first task of the BSP government would be to make the state crime free. A campaign would be launched during which stern action would be taken against those criminals and mafia that have terrorized the people of the state. First Information Report (FIR) would be registered and recorded of every big and small crime. The BSP government would not resort to lies on basis of fake records and claim “UP has strength, for crime here is less.” The government would also free properties of the people that were taken forcibly by the goons and the mafia and return it to the people according to the law. All properties looted by the criminals and the mafia would also be returned to the people, Rajeshwar added.
The foremost priority of the government would be to establish injustice free, crime free and fear free situation that would ensure the rule of law. Such and atmosphere once created would enable any female to move out of her house freely and safely in the night hours, the Governor said. He further stated that riots and violence would not be allowed to take place in the name of religion, and that stern action will be taken against people and organizations that trigger communal tension. Land and Contractor mafia would also not be spared. Arms licenses given to criminals during the SP regime would be withdrawn and NSA would be invoked against hard core criminals, the governor concluded.
