Union Minister of State for Home Shree Prakash Jaiswal on Friday expressed serious concern over what he termed as 'worsening' of law and order in India's most populous state � Uttar Pradesh.

Talking to media persons in Lucknow on Friday evening, Jaiswal blamed the unabated criminalization of politics as the main reason behind the deteriorating crime situation. However, on whether UP was a fit case for imposition of President's rule, he said, "It is best that a duly elected government is removed by the mandate of the people only."

He agreed that the recent bomb blasts in Varanasi and the murder of Mehar Bhargava blatantly reflected the 'deplorable' law and order situation in the state.

"The sensational killing of Mehar Bhargava and the failure of the police to nail the real culprits even after a month of the incident speaks volumes of how things were in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

The minister also lamented that the state administration's failure in cracking the twin bomb blasts in Varanasi, which claimed the lives of 18 persons and left over a 100 injured.

"It was a sad commentary that the police were yet to nab the culprits," Jaiswal observed, adding, "Well, since law and order was a state subject, there is little that the Centre can do about it, unless the state authorities wish to hand over the investigations to a central agency."

The minister also rapped the respective state governments for their failure to tackle the unabated naxalite menace in seven states. "This is a socio-economic problem, which needs to be tackled in a wholistic manner. The Centre is already doing its bit through large-scale funding of various employment and development schemes," he said.

"However, it is up to the states to implement such schemes with commitment and sincerity to insure the desired results," he added.