BJP must find 1,000 devotees 'missing' from Maha Kumbh: Akhilesh Yadav on PM's statement

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday claimed that about 1,000 Hindu devotees who had gone to the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj were missing and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have talked about finding these people when he gave his statement in the Lok Sabha.

Yadav's remarks come a day after Prime Minister Modi said the Maha Kumbh strengthened the spirit of unity in the country and gave a befitting response to those who questioned India's capability to organise such a large congregation.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, Modi said the success of the Maha Kumbh was a result of the contributions of countless people from the government and society.

Yadav said the biggest question is what was the budget allocated by the government of India for the Maha Kumbh.

"Can anyone imagine that the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were just deciding where the vehicles will be parked. There were a number of IPS officials who were stopping people from going for the 'snan', saying that they do not have the capacity to facilitate them," he told reporters in Parliament House premises.

"People were being stopped at the borders. The Centre would have given a budget for the Maha Kumbh to the state government -- that should be mentioned. At a time when pages of history are being turned, the biggest loss of lives has been of Hindu devotees," he said.

The BJP and its people should help the families of those who lost their loved ones in the Maha Kumbh, the former UP chief minister said.

"Even now, 1000 Hindus are missing from the Kumbh whose whereabouts are not known. The BJP should provide information on the 1000 people who are missing," Yadav said.

"The government should find the Hindu brethren who are missing and unite them with their families. People put up posters of missing people and the government is even getting those removed," Yadav said.

PM Modi should have talked about finding those people, he said.

In his remarks, Modi said, "We witnessed the enthusiasm and excitement of the Mahakumbh in India for about one and a half months. The way millions of devotees came together with devotion, rising above the concerns of convenience and inconvenience, is our greatest strength." "The nectar of unity is the most sacred offering of the Mahakumbh," he said.

"The Mahakumbh was such an event in which people from every region and every corner of the country came together. People put aside their egos and gathered in Prayagraj with the feeling of 'we' and not 'I'," he added.

Modi said the colossal display of unity at the Mahakumbh was India's strength, particularly at a time when the world was in disarray.