Congress slams MP Government over Indore water contamination deaths, seeks Supreme Court probe

The Congress on Thursday launched a fierce attack on the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government over the deaths of at least 18 people, including a six-month-old infant, allegedly caused by contaminated drinking water in Indore. The party termed the incident an act of “criminal negligence” and demanded an independent inquiry monitored by the Supreme Court.

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera accused the state government of failing in its fundamental duty to provide safe drinking water, despite receiving substantial central and international funding. He highlighted that over 40,000 people have been affected, many of them critically ill, and criticised the government’s apathetic response to the crisis.

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The tragedy, which occurred in a city ranked as India’s cleanest for eight consecutive years, sharply contradicts official claims regarding urban sanitation and public health. Khera also condemned remarks made by senior BJP minister Kailash Vijayvargiya during the crisis, describing them as arrogant, insensitive, and deeply hurtful to affected families.

The Congress spokesperson slammed the government’s compensation offer of ₹2 lakh per deceased as grossly inadequate and disrespectful to the grieving families. He pointed to long-standing systemic failures in Madhya Pradesh’s urban water management, citing alleged mismanagement of over 270 million dollars in loans from the Asian Development Bank, along with ₹100 crore allocated during the UPA era.

Terming the contamination a “criminal betrayal,” Khera said the Indore incident reflects deeper governance failures in the state. He linked it to recent deaths allegedly caused by contaminated medicines and poor conditions in government hospitals. He demanded urgent intervention by the Prime Minister’s Office, involvement of the Asian Development Bank, and a Supreme Court-monitored probe to fix accountability.

The Congress leader also raised serious questions about how sewage contamination went unnoticed, why repeated citizen warnings were ignored, and who would ultimately be held responsible for what he termed “entirely preventable deaths.”