Parrikar takes a jibe at UP's law and order

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday took a jibe at the Uttar Pradesh government over the law and order situation in the state.

On a day-long visit to Kanpur, 100 km from here, Parrikar, a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, told a gathering of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers that he was amazed at the heavy security provided to him by the state government.

"Counting the number of cars tailing me has given me a pain in the neck," he said as BJP workers applauded.

Parrikar, a former Goa chief minister, went on to suggest that the Akhilesh Yadav government would be better advised to "keep this security for the safety and security of the common people".

"I do not need all this security, he added. He further accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in Uttar Pradesh of not doing enough for the poor and farmers of the state.

Parrikar told the workers that in the budget for the current fiscal, the union government had sanctioned cash schemes worth Rs. 95,000 crore for Uttar Pradesh, which meant almost Rs. 5,000 per person.

He also said that while the SP government laments that the Centre was not doing enough, the fact was the state government had not made a proper representation of the facts. "So how does the BJP-led NDA government at the centre help the state?"

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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