Akhilesh targets BJP over poor people collecting leftover oil from diyas after Ayodhya's Deepotsav

     Ayodhya, Nov 9 (PTI) Visuals of poor people collecting leftover oil from earthen lamps at the Saryu river ghats in Ayodhya after the grand Deepotsav celebrations have sparked a political controversy of sorts.

     Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav trained guns at the ruling BJP over inflation and "humiliation" suffered by the poor, even as Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi, also of the BJP, said the civic administration had distributed oil and sweets to locals ahead of the Deepotsav.

     The row erupted as videos and photographs of the rush to collect leftover oil from 30 lakh earthen lamps that set a new Guinness record at the 10th edition of Deepotsav on Saturday circulated on social media for the second consecutive day.

     With 2027 UP polls just a few months away, Yadav reacted quickly to visuals showing an oil rush and subsequent videos showing the poor being brusquely prevented from collecting oil as BJP leader and Ayodhya mayor rebutted charges, offering a detailed explanation.

     Yadav also shared two video clips purportedly showing men wielding wooden sticks at the Saryu ghats to prevent people from collecting oil from the lamps and hitting them with sticks. Similar scenes of poor people gathering leftover oil from diyas have been witnessed in previous years as well.

     In a post on X on Monday, Yadav said, "A few months from now, we will form our 'PDA government' and ensure that mustard oil is provided through the ration system so that no exploited, deprived or poor person has to suffer humiliation after being beaten with sticks by these BJP people. Those who are 'distressed, unhappy and humiliated' by the BJP's oppression will ensure the party's permanent elimination this time."

     "The violent spectacle of so-called 'Nari Vandan' presented by BJP workers in Ayodhya is not worthy of reverence but condemnation. The women's commission should take cognisance and initiate legal and punitive action against this BJP worker and the organisers," Yadav said.

     He alleged that the "BJP people" do not respect women; they only insult them.

     "No woman will forget the public humiliation of the grieving mother of the young man who died in the Lucknow fire incident by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. The curse of women never goes in vain.

     "They will lose, and lose badly. Whether it was the 2024 Lok Sabha elections or the recent 2026 Legislative Council elections, the BJP's defeats have proved that the balloon of its slogans has burst among the people. The BJP is on a slippery slope of oil," he added.

     Yadav said people are now in the "mood to defeat them permanently".

     That is why, every political person associated with the BJP is either quitting politics out of fear of public anger or looking for a place in other political parties with folded hands among the first two options available, he claimed, adding "the next election will be women and youth versus the BJP".

     Rebutting Yadav, the Ayodhya mayor said the civic administration was aware of the issue and had taken steps to ensure that needy people received oil ahead of the celebrations.

     "We are aware of this and have, this year too, distributed oil and sweets in slums and among the needy. This time, I too was especially careful about this and oversaw this distribution. Yet, such things happen," Tripathi told PTI on the phone.

     The mayor said one possible solution was to remove all the earthen lamps immediately after the event.

     "We thought of it but the problem is that there are far too many and most of them are aglow, making their removal difficult," he said, while acknowledging the need to find a solution to the issue.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)