Lulu Mall row: Yogi Adityanath says deal with miscreants strictly

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday asked the Lucknow administration to take the ongoing controversy related to the newly-opened Lulu mall “very seriously”.

“The Lulu mall that is carrying out business activities has been turned into a political hotbed. Unnecessary statements are being made by certain people. Demonstrations are being organised to obstruct the movement of the people visiting the mall," Yogi said.

He said roads are for people to commute and no religious activity should be allowed to hinder traffic movement.

Adityanath asked officials to ensure that there is no display of fire arms in religious yatras and processions, and issued directives to establish health posts on the Kanwar Yatra routes.

He was addressing senior officials of the state via video-conferencing, an official spokesperson said.

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"Roads are for people to commute. No religious programmes should be allowed to hinder the traffic. Clear directives have been issued in this regard, and it should be strictly followed with zero tolerance," the chief minister said.

"During the month of Shravan, there will be crowd in Shiva temples. To deal with the situation, talks should be held with the temple managements," he added.

The chief minister said unscrupulous elements issuing "mischievous statements" and trying to vitiate the atmosphere should be dealt with strictly.

"Such people have no place in civilised society," he said, and asked senior officials to have a dialogue with religious leaders and intellectuals of their areas and take support of the media to maintain peace.

Talks are of great importance in a democracy, and using this, the state government succeeded in removing loudspeakers installed unnecessarily, Adityanath said.

He said that for night stay of Kanwariyas, security and public convenience should be kept in mind and foot-patrolling done. Police helpline 112 should remain active, Adityanath said.