Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 14 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the “greatest strength of democracy” lies in the trust of ordinary citizens in constitutional institutions, stressing that public grievances must be addressed impartially and within a fixed timeframe.
Speaking at the 50th Foundation Day of the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta Organisation, CM Yogi emphasised that merely establishing institutions was not enough and that their performance should be measured by whether the common citizen receives timely justice.
“We must remember that the greatest strength of democracy lies in an ordinary citizen's trust in any constitutional institution. An institution that lives up to the trust of the common people in a democracy—no one can diminish its progress or downplay its importance,” he said.
The Chief Minister said good governance depended on maintaining public confidence in constitutional institutions and ensuring that even people at the “last rung” of society could approach them without hesitation.
“This is our benchmark—the greatest benchmark of democracy—that we live up to public trust,” he said.
Recalling the 50-year journey of the Lokayukta organisation, Adityanath congratulated its officials, law officers and young law students associated with the institution. He said the organisation had begun its official functioning on September 14, 1977, under Justice Vishwambhar Dayal and was now functioning under Lokayukta Justice Sanjay Mishra.
Adityanath also stressed the need to ensure that institutions were not misused through baseless complaints. He said while genuine grievances should receive timely attention, complainants filing unsubstantiated petitions should be required to provide specific evidence.
“The system does not have that much time. If you have a specific matter, state it; otherwise, your petition deserves to be dismissed,” he said, adding that frivolous complaints waste the administration's time as well as that of citizens seeking genuine justice.
The Chief Minister highlighted the role of technology in improving governance, citing reforms in Uttar Pradesh's Public Distribution System (PDS). He said the introduction of electronic Point of Sale machines and real-time monitoring had helped eliminate irregularities and reduced PDS-related complaints.
He also referred to reforms in the Revenue Department, where millions of land-related cases were pending in 2017. He said fixed timelines had been introduced for inheritance, measurement and land-use cases to reduce delays and improve accountability.
Adityanath said technology-driven reforms and time-bound grievance redressal were essential to strengthening citizens' faith in governance and democratic institutions. (ANI)
“Greatest strength of democracy is public trust”: CM Yogi Adityanath stresses time-bound justice at UP Lokayukta’s 50th Foundation Day
