Express News Service
LUCKNOW: In western Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Amit Shah cautioned the electorate against voting for the Samajwadi Party saying it would mean return of the anarchy and lawlessness in the state.Leading his party’s door-to-door campaign from the front in Mathura on Thursday, Shah began his tour with a visit to Bankey Bihari temple on Thursday morning. He was accompanied by Shri Kant Sharma and Chaudhury Lakshmi Narayan, both ministers in Yogi cabinet and party candidates from Mathura and Chhata.
Mathura, which has five segments, will vote in the first phase on February 10. In the past, Congress candidate Pradeep Mathur had won four times from Mathura in 1985, 2002, 2007 and 2012 but lost to Sharma by a margin of over one lakh in 2017 Mathura, along with Ayodhya and Kashi, is among the three most prominent religious cities in Uttar Pradesh and the leaders of saffron brigade have been pitching in with the issue of Krishna Janmabhoomi often. Shah also held a meeting of intellectuals in Mathura.
Firing a salvo at the Samajwadi Party, which has emerged as the main contender to the BJP, Shah said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav should be ashamed of the law and order situation during his rule. “The political highhandedness was at its peak then. It is reflected in the cases against Azam Khan. He was arrested… and there were so many charges against him that the sections of CrPC fell short,” said Shah.
“There was a time when even the police used to fear the gangsters and criminals owing to their closeness to the power corridors, women and young girls feared venturing out. But that has changed now. The gangsters and criminals are seen with a ‘patta’ (collar) around their necks to surrender voluntarily.”
