'Political opportunism in Maha Kumbh': SP's Akhilesh Yadav counters UP CM Yogi Adityanath's 'vultures' jibe at opposition

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav hit back at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath following his "vultures got dead bodies, pigs got dirt" remark and said that negative mentality manifested itself in the form of words.
The SP in a post on X accused the government of exploiting

Maha Kumbh

for political advantage and self-advancement.
"But those who searched for their loved ones at the Mahakumbh neither found their names in the list of the deceased—those lost forever—nor in the lost-and-found registers. Some sought political opportunism at the Mahakumbh and found a means of self-promotion, but in doing so, they lost their morality, integrity, and human sensitivity—along with their restraint in speech," he said.
Yadav also questioned the CM's choice of words being used with "a sacred and spiritual event like the Maha kumbh".

"The utterance of inappropriate statements reveals that when negativity reaches its peak, it manifests in words without regard for the dignity of time, place, or occasion. When speaking about a sacred and spiritual event like the Mahakumbh, the choice of words should align with its honor and significance. Those who, despite attending the Mahakumbh multiple times, remain intellectually unchanged—who can measure the depths of their sin and moral decline?" he said.
"To those who have been hurt by such statements, I urge you to respond with sympathy rather than anger toward such individuals," he added.

Earlier on Monday, Adityanath criticized the opposition for questioning the state government's arrangements for the Maha Kumbh, saying that everyone who sought something at the gathering ultimately found it.
"Vultures got only dead bodies. Pigs got dirt. Sensitive people got a beautiful picture of relationships. People with faith got a sense of fulfilment. Gentlemen got gentlemanliness, the poor got employment, the rich got business. Devotees got clean arrangements... Devotees got God. It means that everyone has seen and felt things according to their nature and character," he said.
Adityanath had also criticised the then SP governmnet alleging that its chief minister at the time neglected to review Kumbh arrangements and appointed a non-Sanatani as its in-charge. Referring to the 2013 Kumbh, held during Akhilesh Yadav’s tenure as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, he pointed to Mohammad Azam Khan's appointment as the event's in-charge.