Law and order breakdown in Uttar Pradesh: Mayawati

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After a studied silence of two months, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Saturday came down heavily on the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, claiming a complete breakdown of law and order in the state.

At a press conference here, she attacked the two-month-old government of Akhilesh Yadav and said loot, arson, murder, kidnapping, extortion and dacoity had become routine and people were regretting having voted for the Samajwadi Party.

True to her style, she read out from a written text and dished out statistics to strengthen her case.

She said in the past two months, 800 murders, 270 rapes, 256 kidnappings and 720 cases of loot had take place, and criminals who were behind bars when she was in office had been released.

"We always knew that people of UP would within one year repent voting SP to power. But now within two months, the disappointment is writ large on their faces," the former chief minister said.

Accusing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of toeing his father Mulayam Singh Yadav's line, Mayawati said people were scared in the state to venture out in the evening.

Charging the government with political vendetta, she said a Samajwadi Party flag on a car amounted to "a licence to kill".

She accused Akhilesh Yadav of managing the media to highlight the government's so-called achievements.

"This government is working on paper and through loud pronouncements only," she said, adding the new government had ended 26 welfare schemes run by her government in 13 departments.

Asked why she was still supporting the United Progressive Alliance when Congress had campaigned against her in the state, Mayawati said that for her, "personal welfare comes later and national interest first".

Who will the BSP support as the next president? Mayawati said her party would reveal its cards at an "appropriate time."

"We are waiting for the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and the UPA to announce their candidates. We will according decide whom to support," she said.