Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took on the critics of the ongoing Maha Kumbh mela, equating them to “foreign powers who try to weaken the country” and claimed they have “slave mentality”.

Speaking at a public function in Chhattarpur, Madhya Pradesh, he said, “Nowadays we see that there is a group of leaders who mock religion, ridicule it, are engaged in dividing people and many times foreign powers also try to weaken the country and religion by supporting these people”.

“People who hate the Hindu faith have been living in some phase or the other for centuries. People who have fallen into slave mentality keep attacking our faith, beliefs and temples, our religion, culture and principles,” he said.

These people, he added, “abuse our festivals, traditions and customs”.

“They dare to attack the religion and culture which is progressive by nature. Dividing our society and breaking its unity is their agenda,” he added.

Starting with the stampede earlier this month that killed 18 people to reports of fecal content in the Sangam waters, the Opposition has found much ammunition in the Kumbh to target the government. 

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, with his “tributes to the thousands who died in Kumbh,” had sparked uproar in parliament.

Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Bachchan claimed the bodies of the Mahakumbh stampede victims were “being thrown into the river”.

Days later, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sparked fresh row, refering to the massive religious gathering as “Mrityu Kumbh” citing deaths caused by stampedes. Her remarks had drawn support from even the Shankaracharya of Uttarakhand’s Jyotish Peeth.

Agreeing with her, Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav further flagged the scale and expenditure of the Maha Kumbh.