Chidambaram slams BJP for alleged encounter killings in Uttar Pradesh, says state second victim of party's 'muscular' policies

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Friday slammed the BJP for alleged encounter killings in Uttar Pradesh, saying the country’s most-populated state is the victim of “muscular” policies of the saffron party after Jammu and Kashmir. [caption id=“attachment_5579101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress leader P Chidambaram. AFP[/caption] In a series of tweets, the former home and finance minister said during the last 16 months, 78 people were killed in encounters by Uttar Pradesh Police. “Is this the rule of law under the Constitution of India? It is the rule of law under the ‘muscular’ model of governance offered by the BJP. After Jammu and Kashmir, it is UP that is the victim of muscular government,” he said. Reports say the UP Police, in the first 16 months of the Yogi Adityanath government, recorded more than 3,000 encounters in which at least 78 criminals were gunned down. Quoting officials, the reports say, the data in question was recorded between March 2017, when the BJP government came to power in Uttar Pradesh, and July 2018.