Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Friday targeted her party-led government in Madhya Pradesh over the deaths in Indore linked to contaminated drinking water, calling for a "severe atonement" for the "sin" and seeking "maximum punishment to all the culprits - from bottom to top".
In a post on X, Bharti said, "The deaths in Indore at the end of 2025 due to drinking contaminated water have shamed and tarnished our state, our government, and our entire system."
Referring to Indore’s reputation for cleanliness, she said, "In the city that received the award for the state's cleanest city, there is so much ugliness, filth, and poisoned water that has already claimed countless lives, and the death toll is rising."
Bharti also questioned the compensation announced for the victims and demanded strict accountability. "The price of life is not two lakh rupees, because their families remain immersed in grief for a lifetime. A severe atonement must be made for this sin, an apology must be sought from the affected people, and maximum punishment must be given to all the culprits from bottom to top," she said.
Calling it a moment of reckoning for the state leadership, Bharti said, "This is a testing time for (MP CM) Mr Mohan Yadav."
Residents of Bhagirathpura locality in Indore began developing symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea last week after consuming water supplied by the municipal corporation. The water was later found to be contaminated.
While locals have claimed that 15 people, including a six month old child, have died so far, the health department has maintained that four persons have succumbed.
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said he has received information about 10 deaths.
Earlier in the day, chief minister Yadav ordered disciplinary action against senior officials of the Indore Municipal Corporation, including the immediate transfer of an Additional Commissioner from the city, in connection with the water contamination episode.
Officials said more than 1,400 people have been affected by vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirathpura over the past nine days.
A leakage was detected in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in the locality, at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed.
The leakage led to contamination of the water supply, they added.
