1 year of Yogi: What he has done, what he has not
As Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath completes one year in office today, formidable challenges stare him in his face, with the opposition claiming the misses have outnumbered the hits.
Turning around Uttar Pradesh’s prospects is no mean task, but after one year in office Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is proving that he is firmly in command.
Here’s a list of all the major actions CM Adityanath has taken since he was named as the state’s 21st chief minister.
Farmers’ loan waiver: In his first state Cabinet meeting, the Adityanath-led government waived off farm loans to the tune of Rs 36,000 crore. Described as populist and a quick fix measure to win brownie points, the move is believed to have benefitted around 86 lakh small and marginal farmers.
A number of farmers, however, have reported receiving reimbursements for as little as Rs 1.
UP Investors Summit: Business tycoons including Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Gautam Adani attended the UP summit and signed 1,085 MoUs with the promise of bringing the investment of over Rs4.28 lakh crore in the state. If these projects are implemented successfully, it will lead to the creation of new jobs.
The pledges made at any investor summit however are only that -- promises. There is absolute no certainly the pledges will be honoured.
UP state board exams: As many as 10 lakh students of the 66 lakh-odd who registered for the Uttar Pradesh Board exams had skipped their papers, the highest in five years.
Despite the strictness of the state board, there were many reports of question paper leak.
Encounters of criminals: According to UP police, 44 criminals have been killed in 1,322 encounters between 20 March 2017 and 5 March 2018. Despite the uproar by leaders and activists, both Chief Minister Adityanath and Director General of Police O P Singh have made it clear that encounters with criminals were going to continue.
There have been a number of reports of allegedly fake encounters.
Slaughterhouse ban: Four days into office, the Adityanath-led government launched a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, prompting strong reactions from the meat traders. Besides unlicensed private slaughterhouses, many government-owned slaughterhouses too closed down due to license issues, leading to a severe shortage of meat in the state. People from the Kasai (butcher) community and meat traders were the ones who were severely hit by this decision.
UP was India's largest beef and buffalo meat exporter. The ban has played havoc with the local economy.
Anti-Romeo Squad: Adityanath installed the anti-Romeo squad soon after he came to the office with an aim to curb the incidents of eve-teasing, public attacks on women, molestation, harassment, and rape. With the government facing charges of moral policing, Adityanath had to order the squads to desist from harassing innocent citizens.
The anti-Romeo squads have naturally been accused of moral policing. They could also very easily put off young voters.
Crackdown on corruption cases of previous regimes: The state government also announced that it will launch inquiries into projects cleared during the previous regimes of Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. These included the Gomti River Front project, the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, construction of Lohia Path in Lucknow etc.