Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reached Indore on Saturday and met the families of people who reportedly lost their lives due to the water pollution crisis in the city. Rahul Gandhi also visited Bombay Hospital in Indore and met the victims of water contamination and their families being treated there.
This visit of the Congress leader has been done with the aim of expressing solidarity with the affected families and understanding the ground situation. Gandhi also visited Bhagirathpura area to meet families affected by the water pollution incident.
Congress shared a post on Twitter and wrote, “Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has reached Indore. Here he will meet the people and affected families who fell ill due to contaminated water in Bhagirathpura area.”
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state of indulging in “politics of accusation”.
Speaking to ANI, he said that if the BJP, which ruled Madhya Pradesh for more than 20 years, cannot understand the pain of those who have lost their loved ones, then Rahul Gandhi will.
Patwari said, “24-25 people have died due to poisonous water in Indore. Madhya Pradesh government, Madhya Pradesh Cabinet and our Chief Minister – all of them are engaged in the politics of blaming each other. The state has been ruled by BJP for more than 20 years, Indore Municipal Corporation is under BJP leadership for almost 25 years and BJP MP from Indore constituency has been in power for more than 30 years. But pure drinking water. People lost their lives here despite failing to provide, if these people (BJP) cannot understand that pain, then Rahul Gandhi will understand.
He further said, “In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new India, where even drinking water cannot be provided to the people, questions should be raised across the country.”
Meanwhile, opposition MP from Madhya Pradesh Umang Singhar said that Rahul Gandhi is visiting Indore to understand the incident at the ground level and find out the reasons behind it, while also expressing his condolences to the affected families.
Singhar told ANI, “The purpose of coming to Indore is to express solidarity with the families of the victims of the incident that happened here and to work with them to understand the reasons behind this incident at the ground level – this is what Rahul Gandhi wants to understand. Undoubtedly, this incident is a stain on Indore. The Constitution gives us the right to clean water; it is the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation, but why is it not being provided? It is on these issues that Rahul Gandhi is visiting.”
He further said that on this occasion Congress will demand justice and find solutions to ensure that Indore gets clean air and clean drinking water.
The incident of water contamination in Indore’s Bhagirathpura has sparked widespread criticism as it cost lives and affected many families.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased and free treatment for all affected people.