New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government over the deaths linked to contaminated drinking water in Indore, calling the incident a “murder of the right to life” and accusing the administration of negligence, arrogance, and a complete failure of accountability.

In a post on X, LoP Gandhi said, “In Indore, there was no water — just poison being distributed, while the administration slumbered like Kumbhakarna.”

He said mourning had spread from home to home, with the poor left helpless. “Those whose hearths have gone cold needed solace; the government served up hubris instead,” he added, criticising statements made by BJP leaders in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The Congress leader said residents had repeatedly complained about dirty, foul-smelling water but alleged that authorities failed to act in time.

Raising a series of questions, Rahul Gandhi asked how sewage mixed with drinking water, why the supply was not shut off immediately, and when action would be taken against responsible officers and leaders. “These aren’t ‘freebie’ questions — they’re demands for accountability. Clean water isn’t a favour; it’s a right to life,” he said, holding the BJP’s “double-engine government” responsible for the deaths.

Indore, often showcased as India’s cleanest city for its sanitation achievements, is currently grappling with a serious public health emergency. In the Bhagirathpura locality, residents reported foul-smelling, bitter-tasting, and discoloured water being supplied through municipal pipelines. Soon after consuming the water, people began suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration, and high fever, leading to a surge in hospital admissions.

The situation quickly escalated into a waterborne disease outbreak. According to officials, at least nine deaths have been confirmed so far, while around 200 patients have been admitted to hospitals for treatment. Preliminary assessments suggest that sewage may have mixed with the drinking water supply due to infrastructure lapses, triggering the crisis.

Water contamination is a major global public health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that consuming unsafe water can cause serious illnesses such as bacterial gastroenteritis, cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, particularly affecting vulnerable populations.

Linking the Indore incident to what he described as a broader pattern of misgovernance in Madhya Pradesh, LoP Gandhi said the state has become an “epicenter of administrative failure,” citing deaths linked to cough syrup in one place, children dying due to rats in government hospitals in another, and now fatalities caused by sewage-mixed drinking water. He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that “every time the poor die, Modi ji, as always, remains silent.”

Authorities have launched an investigation into the contamination, while residents continue to demand accountability and assurances of safe drinking water.

–IANS

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