'Those Searched For...': Akhilesh Yadav Hits Back At Yogi Adityanath Over His 'Vultures, Pigs' Remark

While speaking in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on critics, saying that at the Kumbh, people found whatever they sought.

"Vultures got dead bodies. Pigs got filth... whereas sensitive people got a beautiful picture of relationships, traders got business, and devotees got clean arrangements," said the UP CM.

Former UP CM and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav responded sharply to Yogi Adityanath's comments made inside the state assembly.

In an X post, Akhilesh Yadav said, "But those who searched for their loved ones in the Maha Kumbh neither found their names in the list of the deceased, who were lost forever, nor in the lost-and-found register."

Criticizing Yogi Adityanath for his choice of words while speaking about the Maha Kumbh, he said, "Some people sought political opportunism in the Maha Kumbh and found a medium for self-promotion, but in doing so, they lost their morality, integrity, and human sensitivity—along with their control over speech. The utterance of inappropriate statements reflects that when negativity reaches its peak, it manifests in words, disregarding the dignity of time, place, and occasion. While speaking about a sacred religious and spiritual event like the Maha Kumbh, the choice of words should align with the honor and prestige of the occasion. Those who, despite attending the Maha Kumbh multiple times, have not attained intellectual enlightenment—who can measure the depths of their sin and downfall?"

"To those noble souls who have been hurt by such statements, we request that they respond with compassion rather than anger toward such individuals. May God grant them wisdom!" he added.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, where nearly 60 crore people have taken a dip in faith so far, is nearing its conclusion. On February 26, devotees will take the final dip on the occasion of Mahashivratri.