LUCKNOW: A day after the UP Control of Organised Crime Act (UPCOCA) was passed in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Thursday, the Yogi Adityanath government introduced the stringent legislation against organised crime in the Legislative Council, where it was stalled by a united Opposition on the concluding day of the winter session. The Bill was referred to a House panel for further scrutiny.
The development was not unexpected as the BJP has only 13 MPs in the Upper House of 100. While the Samajwadi Party has a comfortable majority in the Council with 61 members, the BSP and the Congress have nine and two members, respectively. The Opposition is against the law. The Bill, formulated on the lines of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma in the Council. After a spirited debate, Council Chairman Ramesh Yadav referred it to the select committee.
Sharma claimed that to deal with organised crime syndicates, the existing framework of the penal and procedural law and the adjudicatory system were found to be inadequate. Hence, a special law with stringent and deterrent provisions was being presented. Calling the law draconian, the united Opposition rejected it and alleged that the government intended to use the law to settle political scores. Samajwadi Party leaders in the House alleged that the BJP government had failed in curbing crimes in the state.