‘Not here to play politics, only share the grief’, says Rahul Gandhi during Indore visit

Indore: Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, during a visit to Indore’s Bhagirathpura area in Madhya Pradesh said on Saturday that he had come to “share the grief” of the families of those who died due to the contaminated drinking water in the city and “not to play politics”.

“As a Leader of the Opposition, it my duty to raise the voice of people and I did nothing wrong. People are dying because of contaminated water. You want to say it’s politics, you can say it, but I will stand with these people,” Rahul Gandhi said while responding to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) allegation that he came to Indore to play politics.

The leaders from the BJP, including the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, had alleged that Rahul Gandhi has come to Indore to do politics over human deaths.

Lashing out at the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government, the Congress leader also said that several people have died due to the contaminated water.

“I have met the families affected by contaminated water in Bhagirathpura. Many family members have died and many have fallen ill. During the meeting, I have promised that the Congress party will demand for more compensation for them,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi also questioned the BJP government over the Smart City project, saying that, many other cities are facing the problem of drinking water akin to Indore’s Bhagirathpura.

He said the state government failed to provide safe drinking water and clean air to the people.

“This is new model of the Smart City where there is no safe water and no clean air for the people, and this is not limited to Indore alone, but is happening in other cities as well,” Rahul Gandhi said while standing alongside with the families affected due to consuming contaminated drinking water in Bhagirthpura area.

The Congress leader also claimed that people in Bhagirathpura area are still not getting clean water.

He said that some repair works have been done because the issue has been highlighted in the media.

Rahul Gandhi also accused the state government of failing to fix the accountability despite so many people dying due to its failure.

“People have died because the state government failed to provide safe drinking water. Who is responsible for these deaths, the government should fix the responsibility,” he added.

Later, in a statement, Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Jitu Patwari said that all the 24 families who have died in Bhagirathpura area due to contaminated drinking water, have been provided Rs 1 lakh as compensation by Rahul Gandhi.

He also said that Madhya Pradesh Opposition leader and Congress leader Umang Singhar provided Rs 50,000 to each of the 24 families.

The state government has also provided Rs 2 lakh to 21 families whose family members died in the tragic incident.

IANS