Yogi completes an eventful month in office

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday completed an eventful 30 days in office during which he took several bold decisions some of which also raised a few eyebrows.
 
Yogi, the firebrand saffron leader, who surprised many after being chosen by the BJP to lead India's biggest state following the party's massive victory in the assembly polls, went ahead, from the very first day, to implement his party's election manifesto and hogged the limelight in the media.
 
Adityanath banned ''illegal'' slaughter houses, which hit supplies of buffalo meat in the state forcing many non-vegetarian eateries, including some iconic ones, to shut down temporarily.
 
The meat traders also went on strike to protest what they alleged ''unreasonable'' restrictions on their trade and sought judicial intervention in the matter.
 
The chief minister in the very first meeting of his cabinet waived the farm loans up to rs. one lakh of small and marginal farmers benefiting around 86 lakh farmers in the state.
 
He also hiked the subsidy to the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrim from the existing rs. 50 thousand to rs. one lakh besides ensuring round-the-clock power supply to the important religious places in UP.
 
Adityanath's decision to set-up 'Anti-Romeo Squad' to crack down on the eve teasers evoked sharp criticism from some sections of the society, especially the social activists.
 
Reports of alleged excesses on couples by the cops and saffron outfits prompted the opponents and activists to term the squad as  ''moral policing''.
 
The chief minister also imposed a complete ban on chewing 'gutkha' (pan masala), betel and tobacco inside the government offices.
 
Some other important decisions by Yogi included financial help for the marriage of poor Muslim girls and directive to the ministers and bureaucrats to provide detail of their assets.
 
The one month stint of Yogi Adityanath also witnessed display of muscle power from some BJP leaders, including MLAs, who allegedly threatened and even assaulted the cops to have their way.