MV Ganga Vilas: Is cruise sailing on holy Ganga serving alcohol? Akhilesh questions BJP [Watch]

The MV Ganga Vilas, the world's longest river cruise, appears to have sparked controversy just a day after its official launch, as Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP on January 14 for infringing on people's religious sentiments. He asked the BJP if the cruise that sails on the holy river Ganga has bars and serves alcohol to its passengers.

"I have heard that cruise sailing on the holy river Ganga also has bars that serve alcohol,” Yadav said.  

He further said that the cruise is not new and has been sailing on the holy river for several years. “Someone told me that the cruise has been sailing on the river for 17 years,” Yadav said.

Terming BJP leaders’ liars, Yadav said that the party added some parts to the route and is claiming they have started a whole new project.

Watch here.

The world's longest river cruise - MV Ganga Vilas - was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on yesterday in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi through video conferencing.

MV Ganga Vilas offers a 51-day trip from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh, covering a 3,200 km distance. It has the capacity to carry 36 passengers.

The cruise will cover several prominent tourist destinations during its voyage. The tourist destination includes - world heritage sites, national parks, river ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Shahiganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Guwahati in Assam.

The world's longest river cruise will start from the holy city Varanasi and then travel to Patna, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Dhaka, and finally Guwahati’s Dibrugarh.

The luxurious cruise is being offered by Antara Luxury River Cruises and can be booked from their website. As of now, the booking is not open as the cruise is being booked by a Swiss company. But people will book tickets for the next voyage, which will held in September, in due course.