Encounters not needed, fear of police should take down criminals: Jayant Chaudhary

“I want the UP Police to become so strong that it doesn’t need to open fire. The fear of the uniform should be enough to take down criminals so that there is no need for encounters,” Chaudhary, the chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, said in Hindi.

“There is a process involved in an encounter and a probe is carried out. Till the time the probe is not completed, political leaders should think before speaking on it,” he added.

The RLD is a constituent of the ruling BJP-led NDA.

Asked how many seats the RLD will contest in the upcoming bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary said, “First, you should know that it is the NDA which is contesting (bypolls) and the RLD is in the NDA. When elections will be contested on the 10 seats, then the selection (of candidates), symbols, campaigning and strategy will be done in coordination.” “Neither the RLD will contest on its own, nor BJP nor any other constituents of the NDA,” he added.

On the BJP staking claim to contest from the Meerapur seat, Chaudhary said, “The NDA will contest all the seats.”

The 10 seats where bypolls are due are Karhal, Milkipur, Katehari, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Meerapur, Phulpur, Majhawan and Sisamau assembly seats.