PRAYAGRAJ, Aug. 8 -- The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh has now become a patron of criminals and mafia elements, alleged Swami Prasad Maurya, national president of Apni Janata Party and former UP minister on Thursday. Speaking to media persons at the Circuit House heer, he said that Mafia-backed elements are routinely attacking opposition leaders. Groups like the Bajrang Dal, Karni Sena, and other so-called Hindu and cow-protection outfits are spreading terror under various banners, he said. Referring to a recent incident in Rae Bareli a day earlier wherein he was targeted by two youths, Maurya said that those arrested kept changing their statements - claiming at times to be members of the Karni Sena, and at other times, affiliated with other right-wing organizations. "These are all goons operating under the protection of the ruling BJP," he claimed. He went on to say that lawlessness in the state has reached alarming levels. "The government is even going out of its way to shield rapists," he alleged. Citing the example of Kaushambi, Maurya said that girls from the Pal community were denied justice, while the police arrested the wrong people. When the matter escalated, the state's Deputy Chief Minister staged a protest, but rather than ensuring justice, the honest police officers involved were punished, he said. Maurya also drew parallels between the Samajwadi Party, BJP, and Congress, saying that all three were essentially the same. "One claims to be a staunch Hindu, while the other pretends to be a soft Hindu, but the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) remains unaware of the truth," he remarked. When asked about the upcoming panchayat elections, the former state minister stated that the 11 parties of the Lok Morcha are currently preparing for the 2027 Assembly elections. Their sole aim, he said, is to remove the BJP-led government from power in Uttar Pradesh....