Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has criticised the BJP in relation to the Varanasi-based MV Ganga Vilas Cruise. "I have heard that there is a bar serving liquor on this cruise sailing on the holy river Ganges," he stated. He mocked the BJP by arguing that only members of that party can currently assess whether or not the cruise has a bar because he hasn't entered it yet.
Akhilesh Yadav can be seen saying in a video posted by the news agency ANI, "Until recently, we used to listen to aarti on Maa Ganga and listen to the objects of devotion while we were sitting there in the boat." Then people would explain why we should conduct one religious act rather than another. "There is a place. Only BJP people can now tell if there is a bar on the cruise. We have not yet entered it."
The SP President is constantly criticising the government over the Ganga Cruise. Previously, while attacking the government over the sailors, he stated that the government would now take away the sailors' employment as well.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Yadav questioned the BJP about the real goal behind the cruise and a 'tent city'. "Now, will the BJP take away the jobs of the sailors as well? The BJP's policy of earning money by making religious places tourist places is condemnable. People from all over the world come to experience the spiritual splendour of Kashi, not for luxury. The BJP will no longer be able to cover the darkness of real issues with external glare," he had tweeted.
Yadav accused the BJP of wasting funds on such initiatives when they should have been utilised to clean the Ganga River in accordance with the Ganga Action Plan.
"People visit Varanasi in the last phase of their lives or for spirituality and get knowledge. The BJP is making this arrangement (there) for earning money by promoting tourism," Yadav was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
(With Inputs From Agencies)