Hamirpur, Sep 12 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Ashok Kataria announced on Thursday that the state government is sticking to old rates of fines under the Motor Vehicles Act "for now".

Talking to reporters in Hamirpur, he said: "We are relaxing the fines 'for now'. We are sticking to old fines under Motor Vehicles Act. We will wait for the Centre to give its final nod."

The minister was responding to questions related to the public outcry over the hefty fines that have been imposed for traffic violations.

Commenting on the FIR against journalist Pawan Kumar Jaiswal for exposing irregularities in the Mid-Day meal scheme, he said that under the BJP regime, the police are carrying out their responsibilities properly.

"Whenever the BJP rules Uttar Pradesh, the law does its work properly and in an unbiased manner. The authorities do not work in favour of anyone," he said.

He also targeted the opposition, saying that "(Samajwadi Party chief) Akhilesh Yadav, BSP, and Congress leaders only talk about the people-centric issues but do not focus on actual issues."