Akhilesh Yadav says MI Ganga Vilas houses 'bar'

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has claimed that the world's longest river cruise MI Ganga Vilas from Varanasi to Dibrugarh, which was flagged off by PM Narendra Modi on Friday, has a 'bar' and accused the BJP of ''converting'' religious places into tourist spots.

''Aisa sunne mein aya hai ki usme bar bhi hai,'' (We have heard that it has also a bar), Akhilesh told reporters on Saturday while referring to the river cruise, which set sail on its first voyage on Friday with 32 tourists from Switzerland.

''We condemn this policy of turning religious places into tourist spots. People go to Kashi (old name of Varanasi) to experience its spiritual glory, not for luxury,'' Akhilesh said.

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The SP president said that Varanasi was the place where one used to listen to the Ganga Arti. ''We used to be told what is to be done in Varanasi and what is not,'' he added.

Akhilesh also claimed that river cruises had been there on the Ganga in the past also. ''This river cruise is not new. Such a cruise has been in operation for the past 17 years. Only some new portions have been added to it. BJP people are expert liars,'' he said.

An official associated with the cruise, however, refuted the allegation and said that liquor would not be served to the passengers on MI Ganga Vilas. ''It is not correct. Liquor is not being made available to the passengers,'' the official said.

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MI Ganga Vilas, which has five-star facilities, would traverse through three rivers, including the one in Bangladesh, before reaching its destination in 51 days covering a distance of over 3,200 kilometres.