Lucknow, Jan 10: Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of allowing a “mafia raj” to flourish, claiming that organised crime in the state has now spread internationally.
Speaking about the codeine drug racket, which first surfaced in Varanasi, Akhilesh said the issue has evolved from a local crime to a multi-state and international syndicate, reaching countries across Asia. “What initially appeared as a local crime soon revealed connections across Uttar Pradesh, later extending to other states, and now the racket has become a well-oiled organised crime spilling over India’s borders. Mafia raj under the BJP government has been upgraded and gone international,” he said.
Highlighting the human cost of this racket, Akhilesh claimed that hundreds of crores of rupees are being generated with alleged involvement of government officials, while ordinary citizens suffer the consequences.
The former UP Chief Minister also pointed to rising incidents of crime against women and cybercrime under the BJP administration. “In Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, five women face violence every day, with rape cases reported every fortnight. Similar reports are coming from across the state,” he said, citing a recent incident in Meerut where a girl was allegedly kidnapped after her mother was attacked and hospitalized.
Akhilesh Yadav asserted that the perpetrators of crime have become increasingly fearless, challenging claims of zero tolerance by the BJP government. “The BJP is in the fag end of its last innings. Its team has been bowled ‘all out’ even before the match ended,” he remarked, emphasising his party’s criticism of the state government’s handling of law and order.