Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 2 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday slammed the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav, alleging that in the last two months, all his posts on X (formerly Twitter) were against the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
"When Ram Lalla was established in Ayodhya after so many years, even then the Samajwadi Party (SP) had opposed it... In the last two months, all the tweets of the SP Chief have been against the Maha Kumbh, the biggest spiritual and cultural event of this century," Adityanath said while addressing a public rally in the Milkipur Assembly constituency.
"Till now 34 crore devotees have taken a holy dip in Triveni Sangam," he added.
The Milkipur by-election is scheduled for February 5, with votes to be counted on February 8. The Congress, an ally of the Samajwadi Party in the INDIA bloc, has decided not to field any candidate from Milkipur and has instead pledged support for the SP candidate.
For the by-polls, the SP has nominated Ajit Prasad, the son of Awadhesh Prasad. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Chandrabhan Paswan as their candidate.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Thursday expressed confidence in the party's victory on Thursday.
"Samajwadi Party will secure a very good victory and a message will go out from Milkipur to the entire country and state," said Dimple Yadav while speaking to the media here.
The BJP suffered a setback in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the INDIA alliance won 43 seats with SP spearheading 37 seats, while the NDA alliance was kept on hold at 36 seats out of the 80 seats.
However, BJP saw a resurgence in assembly by-polls held last year in November where they won six seats and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RJD) won one seat, while the Samajwadi Party only managed to win two seats out of nine contested.
SP leader Dimple Yadav on Thursday also spoke on the stampede at Maha Kumbh and offered her condolences to the bereaved families.
"This is a very unfortunate and sad incident. Our condolences are with the affected families who have lost their loved ones. We pray to God that those who are in the hospital get well soon. We demand the government to increase the compensation amount and demand that all the bodies be handed over to the families," said Yadav.
In the wake of the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh, authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj have assured that enhanced arrangements will be made for the upcoming Basant Panchami (Third Shahi Snan) on February 3.
The ongoing Maha Kumbh, one of the largest gatherings in the world, witnessed a stampede that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, claiming 30 lives and injuring several others, prompting an outpouring of condolences from political leaders.
As per the latest update, at least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in the pre-dawn stampede, said the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kumbh, Vaibhav Krishna. He said 25 bodies have been identified.
The incident occurred as millions of devotees gathered at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers to take a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya, which also marks the day of the Second Shahi Snan.
On the judicial inquiry commission formed to probe the Maha Kumbh stampede, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar told ANI on Thursday, "State govt has set up a judicial inquiry commission. Presently, we came here to discuss how we can conduct Basant Panchami 'Amrit Snan' well and how we can provide better facilities."