Lucknow:Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has alleged that during the tenure of the previous Samajwadi Party government in the state, criminals were active as "mini chief ministers" in every district. But as soon as the BJP came to power, the action was taken against criminals, as a result of which they either landed behind bars or fled the state, said the BJP leader, who addressed meetings in Kusmara and Karhal while campaigning for the party's Mainpuri by-poll candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya on Friday.
The poll to the Mainpuri parliamentary seat, which is slated for December 5, was necessitated following the death of Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP had fielded party chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav from the seat. During the SP's government, criminals enjoyed political patronage and used to raise slogans such as 'Khali plot Hamara hai', they had "become mini chief ministers in every district", Pathak said.