Lucknow: Mentioning that restoring public confidence was as big a challenge as tackling crime after 2017, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday defended the police’s use of force against criminals, with a poser: ‘if the police don’t fire, should they take bullets instead’?Speaking at the pharma conclave in the city on Tuesday, he said: “Many people ask why the police fire bullets, then asked “agar police goli na maare to kya police goli khaye? (Should the police take bullets instead of firing at criminals?). Both cannot happen simultaneously.”“If a criminal has the freedom to fire, the police have been given pistols for the same reason to confront him. The police are trained to make criminals understand the law in the language they understand,” he added.The CM noted that he closely saw how criminals mocked the law and played with it while making people of the state suffer between 2003 and 2017. He said that law and order was his biggest challenge when PM Narendra Modi delegated the responsibility of UP to him in 2017.“The solution was found in our policy of zero-tolerance to criminals. Law was placed above everyone and there will be no exceptions, no pick and choose. Even those on our side will have to face the same consequences if in the wrong,” the CM said.The CM recalled that when the crackdown began, establishing the fear of law was tough initially. “When action was initiated, efforts were made to act within the framework of law, but many times when the person in front is not afraid of the law, bringing him within the ambit of the law and explaining it in the language he understands becomes an immediate necessity.”He added that if criminals had the right to shoot, police had the right to defend themselves. “… Agar us apradhi ko goli chalane ki swatantra hai … toh police ke pass bhiHe added that if criminals had the right to shoot, police had the right to defend themselves. The cops were also given firearms so that they could counter them. Police are trained for this purpose— to deal with offenders in the language they understand.Yogi noted that the formula worked in favour of the state. “When criminals were dealt with in the language they understand, you would have seen that over the past nine years major festivals were held peacefully. “There was no breach of peace, no anarchy, no extortion, riots or hooliganism, and Uttar Pradesh established itself as a leading investment destination,” he added.“Uttar Pradesh has shed its image as a hub of riots, extortion and lawlessness to become a safe and attractive destination for investment. Today, the state has established itself as one of the best destinations for investment. UP is no longer a ‘Bimaru’ state, it is a breakthrough state now,” he added.
