Lucknow, Mar 1 (PTI) Samajwadi Party members on Monday staged a walkout from the Uttar Pradesh legislative council saying they were not satisfied with the government's reply on the law and order in the state.

The Opposition members staged the walkout after clashing with the ruling party during Zero Hour in the House while pressing for admission of an adjournment notice by them on law and order situation in the state.

Seeking admission of the notice, SP MLC Anand Bhadauria accused the Yogi Adityanath government of having a “jungle raj” in UP, alleging that leaders and workers of all opposition parties are being targeted.

"Not only the SP leaders but anyone opposing the BJP is targeted. The government only boast of its zero-tolerance (to crime), but incidents of murders and rapes keep making newspaper headlines every day,” he said.

Leader of Opposition and SP MLC Ahmad Hasan too endorsed his party colleague's view, asserting that ever since the BJP has come to power in the state, there have been continuous attacks on Samajwadi Party leaders and workers.

"It seems the criminals' confidence in UP has gone sky-high while that of the police has taken a dip,” he said.

State Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh refuted Hasan's allegations terming them “baseless” and said, “The current law and order situation of the state is getting praise from all over the country.”

He said the people who earlier used to be scared of visiting UP have made the state their investment destination now.

"Big business houses are now willing to invest in the state. The Yogi government has restored the rule of law in UP,” he asserted.

Singh said following every criminal incident, the government has taken stern action against criminals without any discrimination based on their status.

He said the BJP government is unlike the SP government which witnessed a series of heinous offences including communal riots in Muzaffarnagar, Mau, Meerut and Faizabad and also the horrendous Nithari incident involving a series of rape and murder of children and suspected cannibalism.

Not content with the minister's reply on the issue, the SP members staged a walkout of the House.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)