A day after the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh government set a Guinness Book world record by lighting more than 22 lakh earthen lamps (diyas) in Ayodhya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday shared online a video wherein some children can be seen collecting leftover oil from used diyas at a ghat decorated for festivities.
"Poverty amidst divinity… Where poverty forces one to carry oil from lamps, the light of celebration becomes dim. Our only wish is that such a festival comes in which not only the ghat but also the house of every poor gets illuminated," Akhilesh said in a post (originally in Hindi) on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In a separate post, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister shared a picture showing a woman with folded hands before a policeman as she squats amid used diyas, some still lit, spread throughout the ground. The message along with the picture posted by Akhilesh read: "She is helpless and asking with folded hands When is the festival of the poor?"
(Deepotsav 2023 underway in Ayodhya on November 11, 2023 (Tuesday). Pic credits: ANI)
As part of the grand 'Deepotsav 2023' organised in Ayodhya, nearly 22.23 lakh diyas were lit one-by-one, accompanied by the resonant chanting of 'Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Jai Ram'. The entire Ayodhya echoed with the slogan 'Jai Shri Ram' as soon as Guinness Book of World Records representatives announced the creation of the record.
In achieving the latest world record, Ayodhya broke its previos record of 15.76 lakh diyas lit last year on Diwali eve. Artists from different countries, such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Russia, performed Ramleela at the 'Ayodhya Deepotsav 2023'.
(With inputs from ANI)