'No cop can do anything without my orders,' says Akhilesh's minister

Shocking statements from two ministers in Akhilesh Yadav's cabinet have created furore and have invited more criticism for the young Chief Minister's government in Uttar Pradesh. The first remark came from Shivkumar Beria, the Textile Minister of UP. While addressing Samajwadi Party workers at a party function in Fatehpur yesterday, the minister said that no cop in his constituency "can dare to do anything without my consent." "(They) can't even sit without my permission. If anybody does so, he will be shunted off within 24 hours," he added, while boasting that he was a fifth-time MLA.