NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said accused the Madhya Pradesh government of distributing “poison” after at least 10 people died in Indore’s Bhagirathpura due to diarrhea after consuming contaminated water.In a social media post on X, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha said that the “clean water is not a favour” and pinned the blame on “double-engine government’s” callous leadership for the incident.
“In Indore, it wasn’t water that was distributed, but poison—and the administration slumbered on like Kumbhakarna. There’s mourning in every home, the poor are helpless—and to top it all, arrogant statements from BJP leaders. Those whose hearths have gone cold needed consolation; the government served up hubris instead. People complained time and again about the filthy, foul-smelling water—yet why was there no action?” Rahul said.”How did sewage get mixed into the drinking water? Why wasn’t the supply shut off in time? When will action be taken against the responsible officers and leaders? These aren’t ‘freebie’ questions—they’re a demand for accountability. Clean water isn’t a favour; it’s a right to life. And for the murder of this right, the BJP’s double-engine government, its negligent administration, and its callous leadership are entirely to blame,” he added.Rahul further said Madhya Pradesh has now become the epicentre of misgovernance.”Madhya Pradesh has now become the epicentre of misgovernance—cough syrup deaths in one place, rats in government hospitals taking children’s lives in another, and now deaths from drinking sewage-laced water. And every time the poor die, Modi ji stays silent, as always,” he said.This comes after at least 10 people including a 6-month-old child died in Indore due to diarrhoea after consuming contaminated water. According to officials, the contamination occurred after sewage water from a toilet constructed at a local police check post seeped into the drinking water line.Officials have said that a leakage was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed. They claimed the leakage led to contamination of the water supply in the area.Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey told PTI, “We are closely examining the entire drinking water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura to find out if there is any leakage elsewhere.”He said after inspection, clean water was supplied to households in Bhagirathpura through the pipeline on Thursday, though as a precaution, people have been advised to use the water for drinking only after boiling it.“We have also taken samples of this water and sent them for testing,” Dubey said.Drawing lessons from the water tragedy in Bhagirathpura, the senior bureaucrat informed that a standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued for the entire state to prevent such incidents in the future.At present, 201 patients are admitted to hospitals, including 32 in intensive care units (ICUs).