UP Not Riot-Free in Four Years, Yogi's Claim False
National Crime Records Bureau data shows the state saw 5,714 cases of riots in 2019 alone
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, at a press conference held on March 19, 2021 on the occasion of the BJP government completing four years in the state, claimed that there have been no riots in UP in the past four years.
In November 2017 too, eight months after being appointed as CM, Yogi claimed that the law and order condition in the state had improved and there were no cases of riots since he joined. He had also slammed the previous governments for harboring hooliganism and constant riots in the state.
But official data says otherwise.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, Uttar Pradesh has recorded 5,714 cases of riots in 2019, 8,908 in 2018 and 8,990 in 2017, respectively. In 2016 the number cases stood at 8018.
In the past, Yogi had also claimed that there had been no cases of communal riots in Uttar Pradesh since the time he took office on March 19, 2017. But, an answer given in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir on December 11, 2018 refutes this claim. Uttar Pradesh saw 195 cases of communal violence in 2017, said Ahir.
Uttar Pradesh stood second position in the number of riots in 2017 with 8,990 cases, according to NCRB data. One example is the Kasganj violence. It took place in Western Uttar Pradesh three years ago, when a 22-year-old boy had died in clashes during a Tiranga bike rally organized by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the state to mark the 69th Republic Day.
Factchecker's analysis shows that BJP has time and again claimed about absence of riots in India. A report by Factchecker also stressed on how BJP Chief Amit Shah too has made similar claims in the past about Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The data also shows that Uttar Pradesh ranked third in number of riots in 2019. Maharashtra (7,518) topped the list, followed by Bihar (7,262). In 2018 too, Uttar Pradesh bagged the third spot after Bihar (10,276) and Maharashtra (9,473).
Editor's note: This article, which was originally published on March 20, 2021, was corrected the next day to reflect the fact that the Lok Sabha response was given by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and not UP CM Yogi Adityanath. We regret the error.
