New Delhi: In a scathing attack on the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, the Congress party on Thursday alleged that the religious sanctity of Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, has been compromised by the unchecked proliferation of liquor shops. The party also accused the state administration of concealing the actual death toll during the Kumbh Mela stampede.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said that Ayodhya, considered a holy city by millions of Hindus, has been turned into a liquor hub under the current government, despite its claims of being the custodian of Lord Ram’s legacy.

Rai disclosed that an “umpteen number of liquor shops” have been opened throughout Ayodhya, and presented video evidence from a prominent YouTube news channel to back his claim. The report showed alcohol being sold in nearly every corner of the city. This, Rai pointed out, was in clear violation of the Municipal Corporation’s ban on the sale and supply of liquor within a 13-kilometre radius of the city’s central sacred zone.

“On one hand, the BJP claims to be the devotee of Lord Ram, and on the other, it is promoting liquor in his very birthplace. This is not only hypocrisy, but an outright insult to the faith of crores of Hindus,” Rai said.

The Congress leader also leveled serious charges against the Yogi Adityanath-led government over the alleged underreporting of deaths that occurred during the Kumbh Mela stampede. Quoting a leading national media outlet, Rai stated that while 82 people had actually died, the government officially acknowledged only 37 fatalities.

He further alleged that 19 individuals who perished during the Mahakumbh stampede were completely erased from the records. “There is no mention of these victims, no compensation was offered to their families, and they have effectively been declared non-existent in the eyes of the government,” Rai said.