Varanasi, Sept. 16 -- Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Rai on Wednesday launched an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the ruling party itself orchestrated the dumping of sandbags into Varanasi's sewer lines to deflect blame from civic waterlogging, while taking sharp swipes at the BJP's outreach drives, the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and alliance dynamics.

Speaking about the political controversy triggered by severe waterlogging following torrential rains, Rai questioned the Varanasi Mayor and municipal authorities over the discovery of sandbags inside a manhole, which had prompted the Jal Nigam to lodge an FIR.

"How did they know they had to pull out sandbags from that specific manhole? This...