Rahul Gandhi meets families of Indore water contamination victims, hits BJP govt: ‘Poison in water, air, medicines’

After meeting the affected families, Rahul Gandhi demanded accountability and proper compensation to the affected from the state government.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday where he met with patients and families of those affected by water contamination in Indore.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the families of victims of Indore water contamination. (X/Rahul Gandhi )

The water contamination, that led to vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak in Indore's Bhagirathpura locality, led to several deaths earlier this month. Though, at least a dozen deaths have been reported, the government has said only six people died.

After meeting the affected families, Gandhi demanded accountability and proper compensation to the affected from the state government.

"Those who committed this. There must be someone responsible or someone in the government for this. The government should take responsibility. The compensation and treatment cost assistance for the incident that happened because of the government's negligence should be given to the affected families," Rahul Gandhi told reporters.

After arriving in the city earlier this morning, Gandhi reached the Bombay Hospital and met the victims and their families. He also visited the Bhagirathpura area, which was worst affected due to the contamination, and interacted with the families of those dead.

"People died here, and people are not getting clean water here. I am here to highlight their issues. This is my job. It is my responsibility. I am here to help them and stand with them. You can call it whatever you want. Call it politics if you wish. I don't care. I am standing with these people (affected families)," he said.

In a post on X, he attacked the "double engine" BJP government at the centre and in the state, saying, “The BJP's double engine government's new smart city model has poison in the water, poison in the air, poison in the medicine, and poison in the land. And if you demand answers, they'll roll in the bulldozer!”

He demanded that the government should immediately take accountability for the tragedy, punish those guilty, and ensure prompt treatment and compensation for the victims.

What did the victims say?

Manish Pawar, an Indore resident whose mother died of the contaminated water in Bhagirathpura, said Rahul Gandhi came to help the victims and offered them reassurance and comfort.

"He (Rahul Gandhi) had come to help the victims, to offer them reassurance and comfort. He provided a cheque for ₹1 lakh as financial assistance. Twenty families were present. He said he would make an effort to get clean water and other facilities provided to us," Pawar told ANI.

Another resident, Shanu Prajapat, said she received a cheque of ₹1 lakh from Rahul Gandhi, but added that the residents needed water.

"I told him that my mother-in-law died all of a sudden... We weren't even able to reach the hospital. Rahul Gandhi said that he will support us. We were given a cheque of ₹1 lakh (by Rahul Gandhi), but what can that do? Human life has no price. The government gave us a cheque of ₹2 lakhs, but we need water... For how long can we keep purchasing clean water?" Prajapat said.

The residents of Bhagirathpura have claimed that 24 people have died in the tragedy, howoever, the state government, in its status report before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has pegged the toll at seven, including a five-month-old infant.