"If final was in Lucknow...": After Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav takes a dig at BJP after World Cup debacle

India's defeat in the final match of World Cup 2023 against Australia is drawing criticism from different quarters. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that Team India could have won the final if the match had taken place in Lucknow instead of Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

His comments came hours after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi called PM Narendra Modi a 'panauti' (bad omen) and said his presence in the stadium made India lose the final match against Australia.

Speaking at a public meeting in Etawah district, UP, Yadav said that if the match had taken place in Lucknow, then Team India would have got the blessings of Lord Vishnu and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister of India.

"The match (World Cup 2023 final) that took place in Gujarat, if it had happened in Lucknow, they (team India) would have got the blessings of so many... If the match had happened there (Lucknow), team India would have got the blessings of Lord Vishnu and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and India would have won...," the SP chief said in Etawah.

He further said that Lucknow would have been a better choice for the final match as there were some issues with the pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

"Now, we have heard that there was some issue with the pitch and people's (players) preparation was left incomplete...," he added in his speech.

Samajwadi Party government under Mulayam Singh Yadav had named Lucknow's cricket stadium as 'Ekana Stadium', which is a name for Lord Vishnu. Later, in 2018, it was renamed as 'Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium' by the Yogi Adityanath government to honour the former Prime Minister.

On Tuesday, while addressing a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi said PM Modi of trying to distract from the issues and reached the stadium to draw attention. 

Speaking to the voters in Jalore, Rajasthan, Gandhi said: "Ache bhale hamare ladke waha pe World Cup jeet jaate, par panauti harwa diya (our boys were almost winning the World Cup, but the 'bad omen' made them lose)."

Reacting to Gandhi's remarks, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress leader's choice of words was wrong. "Rahul Gandhi chose the wrong words. What has happened to him?" he asked.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar also hit out at Mr. Gandhi and said the comments were signs of desperation and mental instability.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Chandrashekar said Rahul Gandhi was a 55-year-old who had never worked a day in his life, whose family had "exploited the country like parasites" and whose government had "destroyed the country economically".

"The reason is that PM @narendramodiji is a nightmare for the Crooks of Congress, for enemies of India and Terrorists. For all others, he is the world's most popular political leader, whose experience, hard work and vision have transformed lives of people, grown our economy and earned respect all over India and the world - from Silicon Valley to our villages - from tech to farmers," Chandrashekar wrote.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, condemned Rahul’s comments. While addressing the media in Hyderabad, she said, “It’s such a despicable comment. He (Rahul Gandhi) is continuing the Congress tradition of calling all abusive names for Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Is that how sports is going to be encouraged? Is that the route through which Congress wants to encourage sports in the country,” she asked.

Also read: ‘Our boys would have won World Cup but…’: Rahul Gandhi calls PM Modi ‘panauti’, BJP reacts

Also read: Rajasthan Assembly election 2023: Congress offers free loan to farmers, caste census in manifesto