Prayagraj, April 20 -- Samajwadi Party (SP) national president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, accusing the Yogi Adityanath-led government of peddling lies and running a propaganda-driven administration.
Addressing journalists in Prayagraj, Yadav questioned the claims made by the Chief Minister regarding the 2025 Maha Kumbh preparations.
"BJP is an expert in hiding the truth and spreading lies," Yadav said. "A similar game was played during the Maha Kumbh. The Chief Minister claimed that arrangements had been made to host 100 crore people, which has turned out to be completely baseless."
Yadav was in Prayagraj to attend a function organised by SP's state unit president Shyamlal Pal. In his interaction with the media, he said the Maha Kumbh had been turned into a spectacle of "publicity, while on-ground arrangements for pilgrims were inadequate".
He drew comparisons between the 2025 Maha Kumbh and the 2013 edition held during the SP government's tenure. "In 2013, when we organised the Kumbh, we relied on proper planning, execution, and transparency. Based on our experience, we offered constructive suggestions to the present government through social media. But instead of listening, the BJP dismissed all advice as criticism," he said.
Yadav said the government is so consumed by negativity that it considers even good advice as an attack. "This is a clever government - every figure they give is inflated by 30 percent," he remarked, questioning the authenticity of the data being circulated by the state administration about the Maha Kumbh.
He further alleged that the BJP has turned governance into a spectacle of coordinated misinformation. "Earlier, only one minister used to handle publicity, now the entire government is operating on propaganda...," he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.