UPPER PRADESH Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated on Tuesday that “mafia in UP who were a threat earlier are now facing threats.” This statement came three days after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in a brazen killing on live television while accompanied by police.
Adityanath said that the state’s improved peace and order situation made UP a desirable location for business and investment while speaking at an event commemorating the signing of an MoU for a 1,000-acre textile park in the Lucknow and Hardoi districts.
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, was in attendance.”UP was renowned for two things prior to 2017. The state of law and order was poor. Riots were also well-known there. Even the titles of a few districts made people nervous. No longer must one be afraid of any neighborhood. “Those who posed a threat to the reputation of Uttar Pradesh are now under attack,” Adityanath stated.
Following an encounter in which Atiq’s son Asad and a friend were slain, the deaths of Atiq and Ashraf had sparked outrage among the Opposition. The two instances are the subject of judicial and SIT investigations, respectively, by the Adityanath administration.
Adityanath remarked during his speech at the occasion in Lucknow that “no mafia can spread terror in UP today and every district is now safe, with its own identity.”
“I assure you all that UP has lost its reputation for rioting,” he continued. There would be a riot every other or third day. There were almost 700 riots between 2012 and 2017. In the period from 2007 to 2012, there were about 364 riots. From 2017 through 2023, there haven’t been any riots. Curfew has never been imposed. It is a favorable environment for business and investment. No organized crime group or career criminal can now endanger an industrialist.
The MoU was signed at the ceremony by Amit Mohan Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Handloom and Textile Industry, MSME, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Textiles, Government of India.
Along with Piyush Goyal, other attendees were Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshana Vikram Jardosh and Uttar Pradesh MSME Minister Rakesh Sachan.
Adityanath expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selecting UP for the PM Mega Integrated Textiles and Apparel (PM Mitra) Scheme, under which the textile parks are being built. Adityanath claimed that this will restore UP to its “ancient glory” and enable the state become the “new textile hub” of the nation.