Akhilesh alleges mismanagement at Maha Kumbh, accuses BJP of exploiting religious sentiments

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of using the sacred Maha Kumbh for political opportunism, alleging that mismanagement prevailed throughout the 45-day event that concluded on Wednesday.

The Kumbh was turned into a propaganda tool, disregarding the sentiments of millions of devotees and instead serving certain political interests, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief alleged.

However, deputy chief minister and BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya dismissed the allegations, and accused the opposition leaders of making baseless claims.

"They falsely claimed that the waters of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati at the Sangam were polluted. The truth is even today, the river flows as pure and pristine as it does in Haridwar," Maurya said at an event in Prayagraj.

In a statement issued by the SP in Lucknow, Yadav said, "The chief minister arbitrarily declared the formal conclusion of the Kumbh on February 26, leaving millions of elderly devotees unable to take the 'Amrit Snan' due to various reasons. The event should have been extended by a month but the BJP's high-handedness stood in the way." Referring to the historical and cultural significance of the Maha Kumbh, Yadav said that from the time of Kannauj emperor Harshavardhan to the SP government in 2013, the Kumbh had always been organised successfully.

"During the SP rule in 2013, the arrangements at the Kumbh were praised worldwide. A team from Harvard University commended the planning, sanitation, and crowd management, even publishing a book on it," he said.

Alleging that the BJP government was never sincere about organising the Maha Kumbh, Yadav said, "Instead of preserving the religious and spiritual sanctity of the event, the chief minister focused on commercial gains. The arrangements were inadequate, crowd management was poor, and stampedes occurred as a result, leading to many deaths." The SP chief also accused the BJP government of hiding the actual number of casualties.

"Despite repeated demands, the government has not disclosed the correct number of deaths in the stampedes or in the accidents at railway stations. Many families are still searching for their missing relatives. This is sheer insensitivity on the part of the BJP government. Why is it afraid of releasing the list of deceased and missing devotees," Yadav questioned.

To ensure the smooth organisation of future Kumbh Melas, Yadav suggested to set up a Rs 2 lakh crore corpus fund, with the state and central governments contributing Rs 1 lakh crore each.

He also demanded that the Prayagraj Fort be transferred from the central government to the state government.

Meanwhile, defending the state government's handling of the Maha Kumbh, Maurya criticised the opposition leaders for making "inappropriate" statements.

"The minds of these politicians are polluted with negativity. I am confident that the 66 crore people who attended the Maha Kumbh will cleanse this negativity," he said at the media centre in Prayagraj.

The deputy chief minister also said the Uttar Pradesh government is prepared to handle even a bigger crowd in the next Kumbh in 2031 ('Ardh Kumbh' takes place in six years).

The Maha Kumbh, which began on January 13, concluded on February 26 after drawing over 66 crore devotees from India and abroad to the banks of the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj.