Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 2: As the death toll in the vomiting-diarrhoea outbreak caused by contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura area in Indore in Madhya Pradesh rose to 15 with over 1,400 people taken ill last week, the political sparring over the tragedy intensified on Friday cutting across party lines and exposing rare public dissent within the ruling BJP itself.
While the state government maintains that the incident was caused by a pipeline leak and is under investigation, opposition leaders and even senior BJP figures have described the episode as a moral and administrative failure, demanding accountability at the highest level. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti issued a scathing public statement holding the government and administration directly responsible for the tragedy in the city which was adjudged the country’s cleanest city consecutively for the last four years.
In an angry reaction just stopping short of demanding her party government’s resignation, Ms Bharti said, “The deaths caused by dirty water in Indore at the end of 2025 have shamed and stained our state, our government, and our entire system,” she wrote. “In the city awarded as the cleanest, such poison-mixed water that has swallowed so many lives and continues to do so is a disgrace. The death count is rising.”
She rejected the government’s focus on compensation, saying, “The price of a human life is not Rs 2 lakh. Families will live with grief forever. This sin demands deep repentance. The victims must be asked for forgiveness and, from bottom to top, whoever is guilty must be given the maximum punishment.” Calling it a defining moment for the current leadership, Bharti added, “This is the moment of testing for (Chief Minister) Mohan Yadav ji.”
In a separate post, Bharti questioned claims by officials that the situation was beyond their control. “Not only Indore’s mayor, but the entire Madhya Pradesh government and administration are standing in the dock.” “If you had no control, why did you continue drinking bottled water while sitting in office? Why didn’t you resign and go among the people? Such sins have no explanations, only repentance or punishment,” she asserted.
The opposition, led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, has launched a major political offensive, accusing the BJP government of criminal negligence and arrogance. In a strongly worded statement, Gandhi said, “In Indore, people were not supplied water, they were supplied poison, and the administration remained in a Kumbhakarna-like deep sleep.” “There is mourning in every home, the poor are helpless and, on top of that, BJP leaders are making arrogant remarks.”
Gandhi questioned why repeated complaints about foul-smelling water were ignored. “How did sewage enter drinking water pipelines? Why was the water supply not stopped in time? When will action be taken against the responsible officers and leaders?”
Rejecting claims that such questions were “useless,” an opposition leader said, “These are not useless questions, they are demands for accountability. Clean water is not a favour, it is a fundamental right.” The leader also linked the tragedy to what he called a broader collapse of governance. “Madhya Pradesh has become the epicentre of misgovernance: Cough syrup deaths, rats killing children in hospitals, and now sewage-mixed water killing people.”
The Indore civic authorities has traced the contamination to a leak in the main pipeline near a public toilet close to the local police outpost, which allegedly led to sewage mixing with drinking water. Chief Minister Yadav has ordered a probe, constituted a three-member committee, and promised strict action once the investigation is completed. Some lower-level officials have been suspended.
Among the many tragic deaths due to contaminated water was that of six-month-old Avyan Sahu, a child born after 10 years of fervent prayers and vows. A simple act of diluting packaged milk with water cost the baby his life and plunged the Sahu family into unbearable grief. The family claims it has rejected the government’s compensation for the death of the child. The government has announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the deceased persons.
Avyan’s grandmother, Krishna Sahu on Friday said, “We have not taken any compensation from the State Government so far. Our child is gone. Will the compensation bring him back to life? Money is not greater than a child.” She said her daughter gave birth to Avyan “after 10 years of prayers and vows.”
She said due to insufficient breast milk, the infant was given packaged milk and milk powder mixed with water from the municipal tap. Anita Sen, a neighbour, said, “There is a one-month-old girl, a four-year-old child, and a 10-year-old girl in my house. Now the government should ensure that no mother is robbed of a child due to contaminated water.”