If criminals interfere with right to life of poor, they don't have right to live: Adityanath

Ambedkar Nagar/Ayodhya (UP): Criminals don't have the "right to live" if they interfere with the right to life of the poor, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday.

Addressing a function in Ambedkar Nagar, Adityanath said criminals' "right to live will be snatched" if they interfere with others' right to live.

Over 180 alleged criminals were gunned down in police encounters in the state in the six years of the Yogi Adityanath government, as per data by the state police.

Critics have branded some of these encounters as "fake", a charge repeatedly denied by UP Police.

The chief minister said that before the BJP government in the state, criminals would encroach on the lands of the poor and stop them from celebrating their festivals.

"Can any mafia' encroach over the land of the poor today? Can anyone harass our daughters? They know that if they harass any daughter, 'Yamraj' will treat him at the next road intersection," Adityanath said after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 2,122 crore here.

"Tell me if the ongoing treatment of mafias' is correct or not? Do you support it or not?" he asked the crowd gathered at the function.

Adityanath said it was because of the "double engine government" that the criminals in UP were receiving this "treatment". The "mafias" were "creatures reared and brought up" by previous governments that served as their leaders' source of income, he said.

"But we said that these creatures don't have the right to live if they interfere with the right to life of the poor. Their right to live will be snatched from them and they will be eliminated ( khatm kar diya jaega') if they interfere," the chief minister said.

According to UP Police's data, over 180 alleged criminals have been killed between 2017 and 2023 in more than 10,900 police encounters in the state. In these encounters, 23,300 alleged criminals have been arrested and 5,046 of them have been injured.

The chief minister also targeted the Samajwadi Party in his address and called it an "anti-dalit" party.

"A war is going on between chacha' and bhatija' there. The family gets busy with vasooli' (recovery) whenever any recruitment is announced," said Adityanath, in an indirect dig at SP president Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle and party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav.

"There were governments in the country (centre) before 2014 and in UP before 2017 who thought only about themselves and their families. But PM Modi has said that all 140 crore people of the country are his family."

"There is only one pledge, the public is our family and we will do everything for the public. We will provide security and development for them," Adityanath said.

Further attacking the SP, the chief minister said the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya was unimaginable during the previous government, according to an official statement on Thursday.

Alleging the party of being against Dalit interests, Adityanath said, "These people wanted to change the name of your (Ambedkar Nagar) district too. They even removed the name of Kannauj Medical College named after Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, but we have decided to restore it. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was the architect of the Constitution and there could be no compromise on the name of the college."

"SP is anti-Dalit. This is the same SP that caused the Guest House scandal and called for the removal of memorials built in the name of great Dalit leaders, but the double engine government built Panch Teerth in the name of Baba Saheb (Ambedkar). Our government has provided housing to 4 crore people," Adityanath was quoted as saying in the statement.

"In the last ten years, the central government, and for the past seven years, the state government, both have been working together. Hence investment is coming, development is taking place, employment is being provided, and the poor are getting the benefits of welfare schemes. Efforts are being made to increase the pace of development manifold," he added.

Highlighting the Gorakhpur Link Expressway passing through Ambedkar Nagar district, Adityanath said, "Just as a developed UP is necessary for a developed India, a developed Ambedkar Nagar is necessary for a developed UP, and the double-engine government is necessary for developed Ambedkar Nagar," the chief minister said.

Later during the day, Adityanath visited Ayodhya and offered prayers at the newly constructed Ram temple and Hanuman Garhi Temple.

He spoke to officials of the Ram temple administration and sought information about the arrangements in place.