‘Grave sin’: How Indore water contamination deaths put BJP on defensive, amid criticism from within and outside

In a series of posts on X, Bharti, a former Union Minister and former CM, called the Indore deaths a “grave sin” that had “shamed and tarnished our state, our government, and our entire system” and demanded “maximum punishment” for those responsible “from the bottom to the top”. While the toll is up to 10, according to Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav, according to the health department, it is four.

She wrote that the deaths had “shamed and tarnished our state, our government, and our entire system”, adding, “In a city that received the award for being the cleanest city in the state, such ugliness, filth, poisoned water that has swallowed and continues to swallow so many lives — the death toll is rising.”

Bharti, a former CM and three-time MP from the state known for being outspoken and challenging the party on matters of governance and spirituality, said, “Severe atonement must be made for this sin, apologies must be sought from the victims, and maximum punishment must be given to whoever is guilty from bottom to top. This is the hour of testing for Mohan Yadav ji … Not just the Mayor of Indore, but the government and administration of Madhya Pradesh, all those responsible for this grave sin stand in the dock of crime against the people.”

Targeting the state government, Rahul Gandhi pointed fingers at the broader systemic failure under BJP rule. “Indore was given not water, but poison – and the administration remained in a Kumbhakarna-like slumber,” the LoP wrote on X.  “There is mourning in every household, the poor are helpless — and on top of that, arrogant statements from BJP leaders. Those whose hearths have been extinguished needed consolation; the government served them arrogance instead.”

This was a swipe at Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, whose “fokat ke sawaal (useless questions)” outburst at a journalist who questioned him about the deaths — the minister is also the local MLA — was seen as a symbol of government insensitivity.

“Madhya Pradesh has now become the epicentre of misgovernance — deaths from cough syrup in one place, rats taking children’s lives in government hospitals in another, and now deaths from drinking sewage-contaminated water. And whenever the poor die, Modi ji remains silent as always,” Gandhi said.

CM intervenes

Moving fast to contain the political fallout, CM Yadav issued show-cause notices to Indore’s Municipal Commissioner and Additional Commissioner. He also ordered “the immediate removal of the Additional Commissioner from Indore and the withdrawal of the charge of the Water Distribution Department from the Superintending Engineer in charge,” and instructed that the vacant positions be filled with immediate effect.

Yadav also convened a virtual meeting on Friday evening with the Mayors, Chairpersons, and Commissioners of all 16 Municipal Corporations in the state, along with District Collectors, officials from the departments of Health, Urban Development, Public Health Engineering, and other relevant headquarters-level officers.

“In this meeting, a review of the entire state will be conducted and necessary instructions will be given. This is to bring about corrective measures in the wake of the incident,” he said.

BJP internal dynamics

Despite the rising criticism, BJP insiders said the party was not in full crisis mode yet, but neither was it entirely on the same page about its response.

A senior BJP leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the complex political dynamics at play. “The CM was vacationing with his family in Umaria. When this incident happened, he went to Indore and then he left after Vijayvargiya made that statement. There is some annoyance about the way it turned out,” he said.

The BJP central leadership in Delhi was monitoring the situation. “However, they understand the context in which many of the statements have been made and are not angry with him so far,” said the leader.

Another BJP functionary pointed to another reason for the tensions. “Even though the party is united in Indore, there seems to be a distance between Bhopal, as the two biggest leaders, Mohan Yadav and Kailash Vijayvargiya, will always be in a constant but understandable tussle with each other as they are both senior leaders from the same region.”

Defending the under-fire Vijayvargiya, one of his aides said, “The minister has been busy coordinating with officials for administrative actions, he has been guiding local party workers on daily operations from distributing fruits to the victims to the slogans to be raised to raise the spirits of the party.”