'Rs 10 Crore Should Be Given': Akhilesh Yadav On Yogi Govt's Decision To Give Rs 1 Lakh To DMs For Navratri

During the upcoming festival of Navratri, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to hold Ramayana and Durga Saptshati recitations in each district.

New Delhi: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday raised question on government decision of giving one lakh rupees each to the District Magistrates of each district for organizing cultural programs on the occasion of Navratri (Chaitra Navratri 2023) and Ramnavami and said, "at least 10 crores should be given."

"The proposal of giving 1 lakh rupees to the District Magistrates of UP to celebrate Ram Navami is welcome, but what will happen with such a small amount, at least 10 crores should be given so that festivals of all religions can be celebrated. The BJP government should give free cylinders on festivals and it should start from this Ram Navami," wrote SP leader on his Twitter.

The head of the Samajwadi Party reacted strongly to the announcements by accusing the Yogi Adityanath government of "commercializing religion."

"During the SP government, honorarium was given to the priests and many facilities were available to the visitors. Today, the BJP government is neither increasing the honorarium of the priests nor the facilities for the public, it is just finding new ways to collect money," Mr Yadav tweeted in Hindi. "BJP should not exploit faiths by commercializing religion, the public is angry."

During the upcoming festival of Navratri, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to hold Ramayana and Durga Saptshati recitations in each district.

The day of Chaitra Navratri is March 22.

In this regard, a letter has been sent to all district divisional commissioners and district magistrates, and the government will provide each district with a Rs 1 lakh fund for these events.

During Navratri, all Shaktipeeths and temples will host special events.

Programs will be organised at the district, tehsil, and block levels by the government.

It has been instructed to the officers to finish all preparations by March 21. They have been asked to share photographs of temples, contact information for temple management bodies, and the names and addresses of the temples where programs will be held.

Additionally, two state-level nodal officers have been appointed to assist in the successful completion of these programs.

The programs will start on March 22 and run through March 30.

The importance of ensuring that women and girls participate in these programs has been emphasised. The photographs of any programs that will be held in the temples will be posted on the Culture Department's website.