LUCKNOW: UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday defended the police’s use of force against criminals with a poser: “Should police only be shot at and not shoot back (Agar police goli na maare toh kya police goli khaye)? Both cannot happen simultaneously.”“If a criminal has the freedom to fire, the police have been given pistols for the same reason, to confront him. Police are trained to make criminals understand the law in a language they speak,” he added.Speaking at a pharma conclave in the city on Tuesday, he said restoring public confidence was as big a challenge as tackling crime after 2017. Yogi said he had seen how criminals mocked the law and made the people of the state suffer between 2003 and 2017, adding that law and order was his biggest challenge when PM Narendra Modi delegated the responsibility of UP to him in 2017.“The solution was found in our policy of zero tolerance for criminals. The law was placed above everyone and there will be no exception, no pick and choose. Even those on our side will have to face the same consequences if in the wrong,”Yogi said.The CM recalled that when the crackdown began, establishing a fear of the law was tough. “When action was initiated, efforts were made to act within the framework of the law, but many times when the person in front is not afraid of the law, bringing him within the ambit of the law and explaining it in the language he understands becomes an immediate necessity,” he said.“… Agar us apradhi ko goli chalane ki swatantra hai … toh police ke pass bhi (If a criminal feels he has the freedom to shoot, then so do the police),” he said.Yogi noted that the formula worked in favour of the state. “When criminals were dealt with in the language they understand, you saw that over the past nine years, major festivals were held peacefully. There was no breach of peace, no anarchy, no extortion, riots, or hooliganism, and UP established itself as a leading investment destination,” he added.“UP has shed its image as a hub of riots, extortion and lawlessness… UP is no longer a ‘Bimaru’ state, it is a breakthrough state now,” the CM said.
