Congress leader Rahul Gandhi offered financial assistance to families of the victims of water contamination in Indore on Saturday and pilloried the BJP over the poor state of urban governance in the city, undeterred by his party's setback in the Maharashtra civic polls.
A vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak linked to water contamination has killed at least 21 people in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, which has won the cleanest city award for eight consecutive years and where the BJP has held the mayor's post since 2000.
Madhya Pradesh has had almost uninterrupted BJP rule since 2003, with its stronghold being Malwa, which has Indore at its heart.
According to a PTI report, the state government has paid ₹2 lakh compensation to the kin of each of the 21 deceased.
Rahul met those recovering in Bombay Hospital, a private institution, before heading to Bhagirathpura where he met around 20 bereaved families.
"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.... This is a new model of a smart city where there is no drinking water, and people are being intimidated.
"People are not getting clean water in Indore. They are dying after drinking the water. This is the urban model. And this is not just happening in Indore. The same thing is happening in many cities," Rahul told reporters.
Asked if he was politicising the issue, Rahul said he was in Indore to highlight the grievances of the people as the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
"This is not politics. I am an Opposition leader. People died here, and people are not getting clean water here. I am here to highlight their issues. That is not wrong. 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."
In Bhopal, chief minister Mohan Yadav took a dig at Rahul's visit by recalling the 1984 gas tragedy that immediately killed around 2,500 people in the city and left lakhs fighting debilitating illnesses for life during the Congress rule.
