Lucknow, 15 June

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that while modernisation of India's police forces began nationwide under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, Uttar Pradesh's efforts in this regard commenced only in 2017 after the formation of a BJP government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"The Centre's reforms were not visible in Uttar Pradesh from 2014 to 2017," Shah said after distributing job letters to the newly-recruited constables of Uttar Pradesh Police at a ceremony held here.

Shah also said that India will be a global leader by 2047, with Uttar Pradesh playing a crucial role.

The home minister was accompanied by Yogi Adityanath, and Deputy Chief Ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, among other senior officials.

The event marked the biggest-ever direct recruitment drive for civil police constables in the history of the state police, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement.

Under the ‘Civil Police Direct Recruitment’ drive, as many as 48,196 male and 12,048 female candidates have been selected by the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board.