New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday slammed “some people” for “shamelessly supporting” the Taliban and called for exposing them for “cruelty against women and children”.

Speaking on the third day of the ongoing monsoon session of the state Assembly, the Chief Minister said, “Some people are supporting the Taliban. What cruelty is being done to women and children there? But some people are shamelessly supporting the Taliban. All these faces should be exposed.”

The comments of the Chief Minister came a day after Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq and two others were booked for “freedom struggle” comment on Taliban’s takeover.

Barq had earlier on Tuesday supported the regime change in Afghanistan and said that the Taliban is fighting for the freedom of their country and Afghan people want freedom under its leadership.

The charges against the Samajwadi Party MP include Sections 124A (Sedition), 153A (Promoting enmity between groups) and 295A (outraging religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

However, Barq denied making such a statement later.

Meanwhile, speaking further in the Assembly, Yogi said that the state’s per capita income has doubled in the last four years.

“In 2017, the government had presented its budget. PM Narendra Modi has a sense of development for all and trust for all. This is our culture, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Ji also expected the same from society. Our government has given benefits of schemes to everyone without discrimination.”

“The scope of the budget has increased in the last few years. The small budget was a sign of a small mentality in the population of 24 crores, but in the last four years, the per capita income of the state has been doubled,” he added.

“We ensured the availability of employment, the youth of the state got the job of their choice, we made all these efforts and today the result is in front of everyone.46 per cent of women leaders got elected in panchayat elections and 56 per cent women in block president elections,” he added further.

As the monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly began on Tuesday, Congress leaders held a march from Gandhi Statue to the state Assembly to protest against inflation, COVID-19 deaths, and on the issue of women’s safety on the second day of the monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.