Lucknow,  Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over its decision to implement the commissionerate system of policing in Lucknow and Noida and said it was “another trick” by the BJP to divert people’s attention.

Yadav said taking this step after three years of being in power shows that the Yogi government has failed to control crime till now.

“How new experiments will be helpful in checking crime? Only by changing responsibilities of officers will not change the system,” he said in a statement issued here.

“The crime is rising. Incidents of rape, murder, loot, abduction cannot be controlled. BJP has once again used the trick to divert attention of people,” he added.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday switched to the commissionerate system of policing for Lucknow and Noida, giving magisterial powers to the top cops in both cities.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister.