Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday arrived in Madhya Pradesh's Indore to meet the patients, hospitalised after drinking contaminated water, and the families of those who died.
He, along with MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari and party leader Umang Singhar, visited the Bombay Hospital and met the four patients admitted there. A heavy security deployment was made by the district administration ahead of Gandhi's visit.
In tight security, he visited the Bhagirathpura area, where nearly two dozens of people died last month after water pipeline contamination caused a diarrhea outbreak. After visiting the affected area, he met with the families of the deceased, expressing condolences and consoling them.
While addressing the media, Gandhi said that he was not stopped from visiting Indore. When asked about BJP's allegations that he is playing politics over the tragedy, Gandhi said, "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. 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..."
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VIDEO | Madhya Pradesh: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) interacts with families affected by the vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak linked to water contamination in Indore's Bhagirathpura.
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7)#Indore #MadhyaPradesh… pic.twitter.com/cs1ZTRJL2h
Death toll in debate
According to news agency PTI, residents of Bhagirathpura have claimed 24 deaths so far in the vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak. However, the state government in its status report before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has pegged the toll at 7, including a five-month-old infant.
Meanwhile, a committee of the government-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College has prepared a 'death audit' report which claims that the deaths of 15 people in the affected area could be linked to the outbreak in some manner.
The MP government has paid compensation a compensation amount of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of 21 people who died after the outbreak began.
The officials have emphasised that some deaths had occurred due to other illnesses and causes but the authorities provided financial assistance to all bereaved families on humanitarian grounds.