'Cheating mafia will not be spared': Yogi Adityanath amid protests over NEET row

Fatehpur: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath addresses a public rally, in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh. (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said his government would crack down on the “cheating mafia,” amid nationwide protests demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak and other education-related issues.Pradhan resigned later on Saturday as protests intensified in cities across the country.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced breaking the backbone of the copying mafia. Their properties will be seized, and they will face imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life and a fine of Rs 10 crore. Those responsible for compromising the future of students would face severe legal action,” Adityanath said at a public meeting in Jalaun, according to PTI.

The chief minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship initiatives, including Startup India and Digital India, with transforming opportunities for young people and praised his outreach to students.Targeting the opposition Samajwadi Party and the Congress, Adityanath accused them of corruption, shielding the mafia and neglecting Bundelkhand.”Today the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress are shedding crocodile tears. Mafia flourished everywhere, extortion was carried out in the name of development and recruitment became a means of collection by the ‘uncle-nephew duo’,” he alleged.He asserted that the BJP government had ensured welfare benefits reached beneficiaries directly, unlike previous governments that, he claimed, siphoned off public funds.”There is no fear anymore. Those engaged in extortion have been consigned to history. The drone mafia, sand mafia, land mafia, forest mafia and cattle mafia have all been dealt with,” he added.Adityanath’s remarks came ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, due early next year. The BJP is seeking a third consecutive term after ending the SP’s five-year rule in 2017. A victory would also give Adityanath a third successive term as chief minister.