Congress Leader Udit Raj Opposes UP Govt's Spending On Kumbh Mela; First Deletes Tweet Then 'Restores' It

Congress leader Udit Raj in a tweet posted on Thursday (15 October) questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's spending on 2019 Kumbh Mela by calling it "wrong".

In his tweet, Raj wrote, "No religious teaching and rituals to be funded by the government. The state doesn't have its own religion. UP government spent 4,200 crore in organising the Kumbh mela in Allahabad and that too was wrong".

His tweet soon stirred a row, with many on social media including BJP leader Sambit Patra criticising Raj for his comment. Patra also alleged that Raj was echoing the views of Congress general secretary Priyanka Vadra.

Following the row, Raj deleted his tweet and went on to explain his comment by saying, "Religion should be separate from political power & state shouldn't interfere/encourage/discourage any religion. In this context, I cited example of Kumbh fair expenditure, it was huge".

He has since then said that he is restoring his tweet - which was a personal comment, not connected to his party.

While Raj criticises the Kumbh Mela expenditure, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report in 2019 had stated that Prayagraj Kumbh Mela - 2019 is expected to generate employment for six lakh workers and revenues of Rs 1.2 lakh crore