Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey who is leader of opposition in Uttar Pradesh assembly, has alleged that pilgrims visiting the Devi Patan Dham in Balrampur district will soon have to cough up a fee and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “profiteering in the name of religion”.
The Devi Patan Dham in Balrampur is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths.
Pandey, who was in Balrampur on Sunday, said, “Under the guise of religion, the BJP is preparing to snatch people’s rights and harass them. Soon, visitors to the Devi Patan temple will be required to purchase tickets for darshan. A law for this has already been passed,” he claimed.
“Ayodhya is being sold off. Land is being taken away from the poor and handed over to large industrialists. Big hotels are being built there, and extortion is taking place in the name of development. In South India, where the BJP has little presence, it is bringing people from there to temples for political and economic gains,” he said.
“The son of Ram Mandir Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Mishra was given a BJP ticket from Shravasti, but the people of Shravasti and Ayodhya rejected the BJP. Today, the BJP is running around in distress, both in Uttar Pradesh and across the country,” he said.
Responding to BJP’s jibes at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s participation in the Kumbh Mela, Pandey said, “Regardless of what the BJP says, Akhilesh Yadav has always been genuinely concerned about the welfare of the poor, backward classes, Dalits, minorities and the oppressed. His commitment to their uplift remains unwavering.”
On the Milkipur assembly bypoll on February 5, Pandey accused the BJP of relying on administrative machinery instead of genuine public support.
“The BJP is not contesting the Milkipur election; it is being fought by officials on their behalf. Had the BJP contested it fairly, their position would have been clear. Like the previous bypoll, they are attempting to win using bureaucratic influence. However, this time, the people of Milkipur are firmly standing against them, and BJP is set to face a humiliating defeat.”
Reiterating his party’s support for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi assembly elections, Pandey emphasised that the INDIA bloc is standing against the BJP with strength.
“The Samajwadi Party is supporting the AAP in Delhi because it is the AAP that can defeat the BJP there. The INDIA bloc stands strong against BJP across the country,” he said.
