Yogi Adityanath's Claim Of No Riots In UP In 2 Years A "Farce": Mayawati

Mayawati, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Dalit powerhouse, took on the Yogi Adityanath government and said his claims that the state did not witness any riots in the last two years is a "farce".

Yogi Adityanath, who completed two years in office on Tuesday, presented a report card on his government on Wednesday. He had said not a single riot had taken place in the state since March 2017.

"BJP's claim that UP remain riot-free in past 2 years is farce. During the period BJP leaders & ministers remain awfully busy in lifting of heinous cases against them. And what about mob lynching etc which brought bad name to the country and ultimately Hon court had to intervene." Mayawati tweeted in a thread, after wishing her followers on Holi. 

BJP's claim that UP remain riot-free in past 2 years is farce. During the period BJP leaders & ministers remain awfully busy in lifting of heinous cases against them. And what about mob lynching etc which brought bad name to the country and ultimately Hon court had to intervene.

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) March 21, 2019

Yogi Adityanath had said on Wednesday: "In 2012, there were 227 major communal riots. In 2013, there were 247 such riots. In 2014, there were 242 riots. And 219 riots in 2015 and more than 100 in 2016 - in which properties worth crores were lost."

"However during thee BJP government, not a single riot took place. Nor were there any incident of acid attacks or kidnapping," he claimed.

Mayawati's ally, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, had said that the the two years of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh have been like a "curse" for the people.

Though there has been no major communal violence in Uttar Pradesh during the past two years, the mob violence in western Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr had grabbed national headlines last year. A mob of 400 people, including right-wing activists, had clashed with police in Bulandshahr district in December last year. A police officer and a young man were killed in the frenzy.

In January last year, a 22-year-old man was shot dead during a"Tiranga Yatra" by some people after which a series of violent incidents had taken place in Kasganj district.

The state government then denied permission for any such procession on Independence Day in the western Uttar Pradesh city.

The Chief Minister had said when he assumed office in March 2017, debt-ridden farmers were committing suicides and that Uttar Pradesh had become "synonymous with murder, loot and riots."