‘Forced to Sell Bananas’: CM Yogi Responds After Comedian Harsh Gujral Jokes About UP Crime

Stand-up comedian Harsh Gujral left Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath laughing at the TOI Youth Icons Summit in Lucknow after sharing a humorous anecdote about a banana seller and crime in the state. Gujral recalled asking a vendor whether crime had reduced in Uttar Pradesh, to which the seller reportedly replied that he had once been involved in criminal activities but was now selling bananas. Responding to the anecdote, Yogi credited his government’s zero-tolerance policy, implemented in 2017, for the change. He said mafias had been wiped out and contrasted the past with the One District, One Product scheme.