The thought of Yogi Adityanath as the prime minister of India in the near future is unnerving for many an opposition leader as per today news headlines. That is because they know that unlike Prime Minister Modi, Yogi as the prime minister is unlikely to give the opposition as long a rope as Modi has given. When it comes to matters of national security, Yogi’s attitude is “My way or the highway” and he has shown that in Uttar Pradesh [UP], where he has turned the security eco-system of the state on its head.

The state of UP used to have one of the worst security eco-systems in the country thanks to decades of abuse and misuse of the state’s police department by successive governments of the Congress and Samajwadi Party [SP] according to today breaking news.

When he became the chief minister of UP for the first time in 2017, Yogi basically inherited one of the most demoralized police departments in the country.

Additionally, UP had one of worst if not the worst security environments in the country when Yogi took charge as chief minister of the state in 2017. Today, it has one of the best if not the best security environment in the country.

Yogi’s security policy — rough with the roughnecks!

As already stated, the entire state of UP was literally a breeding ground of anti-social elements that used to rule the streets and public spaces under political protection from the ruling SP.

According to today news headlines the police was not just made helpless and useless but was turned into a tool for coercion by the SP against political opponents. Significant sections of the police department that wanted to work impartially, were harassed and targeted by the ruling SP.

In the state assembly elections in 2017 the BJP’s landslide victory was mainly because Yogi Adityanath emerged as the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post.

The BJP had made security a core issue during the elections and the party leadership knew that the only person who could deliver it for UP was Yogi.

True to expectations, chief minister Yogi came out firing in all cylinders against criminals and anti-socials that either left the state or surrendered to the police. Those that confronted the police, were “encountered” and UP soon became a “no go” zone for criminals.

Yogi has triggered the most dramatic transformation in the country

From a state that was seen as the nation’s weak underbelly, Yogi’s stern security policy has turned UP into a safe destination for billions of dollars worth of investments.

The centre’s decision to set up a major defence industrial corridor in UP also gave a booster shot to the state’s industrial potential as per today news headlines.

In 2017 when Yogi took charge, UP’s GDP was around $ 170 billion and in just seven years it has almost doubled to $320 billion with the economy growing at 12% annually. Yogi has set a goal for UP to become a one trillion dollar economy by 2027, which is remarkable.

This kind of growth would not have been possible without the kind of security environment that Yogi has created with his “zero tolerance of crime” policy in the state.

This is precisely what sections of the opposition in the country are really worried about. If Yogi comes to power at the centre after Modi, he will use the same approach to national security as he had done in UP. Politicians facing serious corruption charges like Arvind Kejriwal, leader of Aam Admi Party and Sanjay Raut, right hand man of former Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray gave bizarre statements about what they imagine could be the “differences” between Yogi and the BJP’s central leadership of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Needless to say that CM Yogi found these statements amusing and brushed them away as immature falsehoods and utter nonsense.