RegionalUttar pradesh

Samajwadi Chief Akhilesh Yadav says that Yogi avoided dip in Ganga as he knew the river is dirty

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday claimed that the UP CM Yogi Adityanath did not take a dip in the Ganga as he knew the river is dirty. “The BJP spent crores on cleaning the Ganga. But CM Yogi Adityanath knew that the Ganga is dirty. That’s why he didn’t take a dip,” Yadav said.

“The question is, will Mother Ganga ever be clean? Funds flowed out, but the river hasn’t been cleaned,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi, however, offered prayers and took a dip in the Ganga at Lalita Ghat on Monday before inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project.

Akhilesh Yadav’s comments on Tuesday were the latest in a series of political attacks between the SP and BJP, two major contenders in the Uttar Pradesh election due to be held early next year.

Earlier, he attacked PM Narendra Modi saying that people spend their final days in Varanasi. Asked about PM Modi’s visit to Varanasi, Akhilesh Yadav told reporters in Etawah, “That [Banaras] is a place to stay. People spend their final days in Banaras.”

PM Modi, too, had attacked the SP saying that red (the colour of SP’s cap) signifies danger for UP.

Pranchal Srivastava