U.P. Congress criticises spending on PM Modi's birthday celebrations
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Friday accused the BJP-led State government of wasting public money on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday. Addressing the media in Lucknow, he said crores of lamps were lit nationwide at a cost of at least ₹5 each while hundreds of villages in U.P. and other States were cut off by floods. Rai alleged 500 bikes were given in Varanasi on condition riders pay ₹700 a day, and said employment was lacking despite claimed GDP growth.
Source
The Hindu — National · read the original report ↗
Desk check · some claims need care
What the desk checked (5)
- U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai accused the BJP-led State government of wasting public money on PM Modi's birthday. — Directly attributed to Ajay Rai at a media briefing in Lucknow on September 18, 2026; appears in source.
- 500 bikes were given in Varanasi on condition riders pay ₹700 per day. — Allegation by Rai with no supporting document or official source cited in the text.
- Crores of lamps were lit nationwide at a cost of at least ₹5 per lamp. — Rai's own estimate; no official costing or source given.
- Videos show children collecting leftover oil from lamps, including a girl saying she would use it to cook dinner. — Based on unverified viral videos described by Rai; not independently sourced in the article.
- Hundreds of villages in U.P. and other States are cut off due to floods, and there is no employment despite claimed GDP growth. — Stated by Rai as assertion; figures unattributed to any official data in the source.
Analysts’ view opinion
By yoking the floods to the jobs question, the UP Congress is reviving a familiar opposition frame: spectacle versus suffering. Ajay Rai's choice of Varanasi — the Prime Minister's own constituency — as his example is no accident; the strategy is to fight the symbolic battle on the BJP's strongest ground. But as it stands this is one leader's allegation: the story carries no verified spending figures and no BJP response.
- Reducing the argument to a simple sum — ₹5 a lamp, crores of lamps — signals a shift towards kitchen-table messaging that ordinary voters can process quickly.
- Juxtaposing flood distress with celebratory imagery is an attempt to make the charge moral rather than merely fiscal, forcing the government into a defensive posture.
- The 'GDP up but no jobs' line is squarely aimed at unemployed youth, a constituency both sides court hard in Uttar Pradesh.
- The claim about 500 bikes in Varanasi with a ₹700-a-day condition seeks to anchor a national narrative in a specific, local grievance.
- The BJP typically counters such attacks by framing them as disrespect for popular sentiment and public participation; whose frame survives the exchange is the real contest.
What to watch — Watch whether the BJP answers with expenditure details or pivots to its flood-relief record, and whether other opposition parties amplify the same line.
The story does not establish whether government funds were in fact spent on the celebrations, how much, or that the bike allegation is accurate, and it carries no BJP rebuttal.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Rai held a press conference in Lucknow attacking the BJP-led State government over the manner in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday was celebrated. He argued that money spent on mass lamp-lighting events was public money wasted while parts of Uttar Pradesh and other States were reeling under severe floods. He also raised allegations about a scheme distributing bikes in Varanasi and questioned the government's claims of GDP growth against the ground reality of jobs. The remarks, reported on September 19, 2026, form part of the Opposition's broader charge of misplaced spending priorities.
Key facts
- Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief, made the allegations while addressing the media in Lucknow on Friday, September 18, 2026.
- Rai said crores of lamps were lit across the country for the Prime Minister's birthday, with at least ₹5 spent on lighting each lamp.
- He alleged 500 bikes were given in Varanasi on the condition that riders pay ₹700 per day.
- Rai said hundreds of villages in Uttar Pradesh and other States had been cut off due to devastation caused by severe floods.
- He claimed people affected were not getting food, water or medicines while the birthday was being celebrated with 'pomp and ceremony'.
- He cited viral videos showing children collecting leftover oil from the lamps, including a girl who said she would use it to cook dinner.
- Rai held the BJP responsible for the 'collapse of the economy', saying neither employment nor jobs were being provided.
- He said the government claims GDP has increased, but there is 'neither employment nor jobs' in the country and in Uttar Pradesh.
Timeline
- Around September 17-18, 2026 (as described in the source)Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday celebrated across the country with mass lamp-lighting; videos of children collecting leftover lamp oil go viral.
- Same periodHundreds of villages in Uttar Pradesh and other States reported cut off due to severe floods.
- Friday, September 18, 2026U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai addresses the media in Lucknow, alleging waste of public funds and citing the Varanasi bikes deal.
- September 19, 2026, 04:49 am ISTThe report carrying Rai's allegations is published.
Who has a stake
- Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president — Leading the Opposition's attack in U.P. on spending priorities, flood relief and jobs ahead of political contests in the State.
- BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government — Accused of wasting public money on birthday celebrations; its response is not stated in the source.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi — Target of the criticism; Rai said he 'should be ashamed' that spending occurred while poor children's homes lacked cooking oil.
- Flood-affected residents of U.P. and other States — Said to be in hundreds of villages cut off, without access to food, water and medicines.
- Riders of the 500 bikes in Varanasi — Alleged to be required to pay ₹700 per day under the arrangement described by Rai.
- Unemployed youth in the country and U.P. — Rai's claim that jobs are absent despite official GDP growth figures directly concerns their prospects.
Why it matters
The story captures a recurring fault line in Indian politics: whether large-scale symbolic or celebratory public expenditure can be justified when disaster relief and livelihoods demand attention. It also reflects the Opposition's 'jobless growth' critique, contrasting headline GDP numbers with employment on the ground. For readers, it is a case study in how spending priorities, federal disaster response and political messaging intersect in a large State like Uttar Pradesh.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Ajay Rai is the President of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, as named in the source.
- Rai's press conference was held in Lucknow on Friday, September 18, 2026.
- Allegation: crores of lamps lit nationwide at a cost of at least ₹5 per lamp for the PM's birthday.
- Allegation: 500 bikes distributed in Varanasi with riders required to pay ₹700 per day.
- Varanasi, referred to in the story, is in Uttar Pradesh; the State is also described as flood-hit.
- Rai's economic charge: GDP growth claimed by government but 'neither employment nor jobs' in the country and U.P.
Mains framing
The episode raises the classic question of expenditure priorities in a welfare state: the U.P. Congress chief argues that crores of lamps lit at an estimated ₹5 each for the Prime Minister's birthday amount to a waste of public funds at a moment when hundreds of villages in Uttar Pradesh and other States are cut off by floods and residents lack food, water and medicines. The critique operates on three levels — fiscal (symbolic spending versus relief and basic services), distributive (the viral image of children collecting leftover lamp oil for cooking as evidence of deprivation), and macroeconomic (the 'jobless growth' argument that rising GDP has not translated into employment in the country or in U.P.). The Varanasi allegation of 500 bikes given on a ₹700-per-day payment condition is presented as an instance of schemes shifting costs onto beneficiaries; the source records only the allegation, with no government response. The way forward suggested by such critiques lies in transparent accounting of event-related public spending, prioritising disaster relief and health supplies in affected districts, and reconciling growth statistics with credible employment data — though the source itself contains no policy commitment or rebuttal, only the Opposition's claims.
Key terms
- Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC)
- The State unit of the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh, headed in the story by president Ajay Rai.
- GDP growth
- Gross Domestic Product expansion cited by the government; Rai counters that it has not produced jobs in the country or in U.P.
- Jobless growth
- The argument, implicit in Rai's remarks, that headline output growth occurs without a matching rise in employment.
- Lamp-lighting (diya) events
- Mass public lighting of lamps described in the story as part of the Prime Minister's birthday celebrations, costing at least ₹5 per lamp.
- Varanasi
- Uttar Pradesh city where Rai alleged 500 bikes were given on a condition of ₹700 per day payment by riders.
Practice questions
- Critically examine the issue of public expenditure on celebratory or symbolic government events in a context of recurring floods and relief needs. Should such spending be subject to statutory disclosure norms?
- 'Rising GDP need not mean rising employment.' Discuss this proposition with reference to the Opposition's critique in the story.
- Discuss the role of State-level Opposition parties in holding governments accountable on disaster relief and welfare scheme design, using the Uttar Pradesh case as an illustration.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.