Oppn uproar eclipses UP guv address to UP budget session

The month-long budget session of the Uttar Pradesh legislature commenced today with the customary address of Governor Ram Naik amid an uproar by the opposition over various issues, particularly on the law and order front.
The governor's address to the joint sitting of both the state Assembly and Legislative Council, a policy statement of the Yogi Adityanath-led government's achievements, was mostly lost in the opposition din.
Right from the word go, opposition members raised slogans protesting the law and order situation in the state and raised their voice when the governor said that tight security measures yielded positive results on the crime front.

His reference to constitution of anti-Romeo squads drew catcalls from the opposition benches, who pooh-poohed his claims that women were not feeling safe in the state.
When the governor mentioned about the UPCOC bill brought by the government on the lines of the Maharashtra anti-terror law, protests grew louder from the SP members.
The governor mentioned various policies initiated by the BJP government during its one year in office, particularly on the fronts of agriculture, education, health, power and industrial development, but his speech was drowned in the noise by agitated members, one of whom floated a green balloon before the podium.

A visibly-annoyed Naik admonished the opposition members when a paper ball was thrown at the podium, reminding them that "you are representatives of a civilised society".

The opposition seemed determined to corner the state government on the law and order front, especially the Kasganj communual flare up, even before the House met for the day.
The government was scheduled to present the annual budget for the next fiscal on February 16.
This would be the first full-fledged budget of the BJP government which came to power last year with a thumping majority.