Overview

• The state government rescinded the August 2 directive that singled out Yadav and Muslim landholders in anti-encroachment drives across 57,691 village panchayats
• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called the instruction “completely discriminatory and unacceptable,” labeled it a serious administrative lapse and suspended Joint Director SN Singh
• New state guidelines require future encroachment removals to rely strictly on legal facts and rule of law without reference to caste or religion
• Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav decried the order as an anti-constitutional act and vowed to challenge it in court
• Congress president Ajay Rai demanded FIRs and dismissals for officials found to have issued caste- or religion-based directives