'Those Who Didn’t Even Find A Place…': Akhilesh Questions 'Absence' Of UP Deputy CMs At Deepotsav

Last Updated:October 19, 2025, 20:45 IST

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged factionalism in the Yogi Adityanath-led government after deputy CMs Keshav Maurya and Brijesh Pathak were missing from Deepotsav in Ayodhya

Both deputy CMs Brijesh Pathak (L) and Keshav Prasad Maurya (R) had attended the Deepotsav function in 2023 and 2024. (Image: PTI/File)

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday questioned the absence of both deputy ministers of Uttar Pradesh from the grand Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya.

Deputy chief ministers Keshav Maurya and Brijesh Pathak, were reportedly missing from the Deepotsav event with Akhilesh Yadav quick to allege factionalism within the Yogi Adityanath-led government.

Akhilesh alleged that Maurya and Pathak had deliberately skipped the function because they felt “humiliated" as their names and pictures were missing from the event’s advertisement in newspapers issued by the state government and other publicity material. He said this was being seen as a deliberate snub by the two. 

He claimed that the names of tourism minister Jaiveer Singh and agriculture minister Surya Pratap Sahi had been mentioned on the billboards and ads, seen as a “historic insult" to the seniority of the deputy CMs. He said both had informed the state BJP chief of their displeasure and reasons for not attending.

“Those who didn’t even find a place in the advertisement, what significance do they hold in the government?" Akhilesh asked in a post on X in Hindi (translated by Grok).

Maurya, who is also the co-incharge of the BJP’s election campaign in Bihar, returned to Lucknow on Saturday night (October 18). He was slated to travel to Ayodhya by Sunday noon, and attend the Deepotsav event later in the day. Governor Anandiben Patel and Deputy CM Brijesh Pathak were also expected to attend.

Both the deputy CMs had attended the function in 2023 and 2024. Maurya had skipped the same function earlier in 2022, which was also rumoured to be linked to mismanagement of travel protocols by the administration.

Ever since the BJP formed the government in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, it has promoted Ayodhya as a tourist and religious destination. The highlight of this campaign are the Deepotsav celebrations a day before Diwali, which is attended by all dignitaries in UP while lakhs of diyas are lit on the banks of Saryu river.

This year, too, more than 26 lakh diyas were lit in Ayodhya to create a new world record, beating its own from last year. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who graced Deepotsav, on Sunday said: “Earlier, Diwali in Ayodhya was ignored. The Congress government tried to label Lord Ram as a myth and even gave an affidavit in the court stating so. The Samajwadi Party tried to derail the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and fired on karsewaks. But when we came to power all this was changed." 

Yogi said when they first came to power in 2017 and thought of organising a grand Deepotsav in Ayodhya, only 1.71 lakh diyas could be arranged. 

“Today, millions of diyas are being lit to welcome Lord Ram to Ayodhya," he said.

The celebrations saw lakhs of people thronging to Ayodhya, which was decorated with flowers, wall paintings, folk dances and even a drone show.  The chief minister received the certificates for two new Guinness World Records for Deeptosav for the most people performing diya rotation simultaneously, and the largest display of oil lamps with 26.1 lakh achieved by the state tourism department in Ayodhya.

News politics 'Those Who Didn’t Even Find A Place…': Akhilesh Questions 'Absence' Of UP Deputy CMs At Deepotsav

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