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In an exclusive interview to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said sensitising businessmen against paying the ‘goonda tax’ helped root out mafia raj in Gorakhpur
During the interview, Yogi Adityanath also slammed the previous governments and said there was ‘Jungle Raj’ in the state under their rule which has now turned into ‘Ram Rajya’. (News18)
In an exclusive interview to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath shared how he uprooted mafia raj in Gorakhpur in the 1990s by organising campaigns and protests against extortion and ‘goonda tax’. Explaining how the government of the day failed to rein in the gangs, the UP CM said sensitising businessmen against paying the ‘goonda tax’ helped root out the evil in Gorakhpur.
“I came to Gorakhpur in 1992-93. The situation was very bad. There were three-four big mafias and they had their own gangs. Every businessman, every entrepreneur of Gorakhpur used to pay ‘goonda tax’. Every doctor used to pay ‘goonda tax’. For the next 2-3 years, I also experienced how the system was completely paralysed. No government, no one had any say in front of the mafia,” Yogi Adityanath told Network18 on the banks of the Sangam at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Saturday.
“But after 1996, when I felt that sitting idle would not work — because no one spoke in front of them, the entire machinery was silent in front of them — I had to get down into the field myself. I used to speak against them, I used to fight, there were protests and before becoming an MP, we almost controlled the mafia raj in Gorakhpur,” he added.
“We held meetings with every businessman, every doctor, and every entrepreneur. I told them that no ‘goonda tax’ will be paid now and if they do, they will invite trouble for themselves. I am happy that every businessman, every person of Gorakhpur believed in it. Today, there is complete peace and security. When I became the chief minister, I was successful in implementing [the strategy] across the state,” Yogi Adityanath further said.
Asked about the dangerous nature of fighting the mafia, the CM said: “Those mafias then had the protection of the government. But today, I think that struggle became the bedrock of the fight against mafia in the state.”
During the interview, Yogi Adityanath also slammed the previous governments and said there was ‘Jungle Raj’ in the state under their rule which has now turned into ‘Ram Rajya’.
Ever since he first came to power in 2017, Yogi launched a crack down on mafia and promised to make UP a “mafia-free state”. He has often been praised for improving the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh in the last eight years.
A few months ago, Yogi famously remarked that Gorakhpur, which was once infamous for mosquitoes and mafia, is now known for development.
- Location :
Uttar Pradesh, India
