The Bhagirathpura locality in Indore, long celebrated as part of India's cleanest city, descended into a heated political confrontation on Saturday, January 3, 2026, as a Congress fact-finding team attempting to visit the area affected by a severe diarrhoea outbreak triggered by contaminated water was obstructed by BJP workers, leading to intense slogan-shouting and heightened tensions between the rival parties.

State Congress President Jitu Patwari, a native of Indore, sharply criticized the ruling BJP, demanding the immediate resignation of Cabinet Minister and local MLA Kailash Vijayvargiya along with the filing of an FIR against Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, arguing that the tragedy—linked to systemic failures in water supply—extends responsibility beyond the recently removed municipal commissioner and suspended officials.

Patwari emphasized that merely transferring Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dilip Yadav and suspending Additional Commissioner Rohit Sisonia and superintending engineer Sanjeev Shrivastava falls short of accountability, placing direct onus on Vijayvargiya as the urban administration minister and Bhargava for oversight in a crisis that has claimed lives amid reports of sewage mixing into drinking water pipelines.

Also Read: Indore Residents Ditch Tap Water for Bottled After Deadly Contamination Outbreak

In Bhopal, Congress workers staged protests outside Vijayvargiya's residence, accusing him of misbehaviour toward a journalist while questioning the handling of the outbreak, as the opposition highlighted longstanding resident complaints about foul-smelling water that went unaddressed for months.

Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar invoked a 2019 CAG report exposing deficiencies in water management in Indore and Bhopal from 2013-2018, including inadequate tap connections, delayed leak repairs, and thousands of unfit water samples with no recorded follow-up action, underscoring persistent governance lapses that contributed to the current public health emergency with disputed death tolls ranging from official figures to higher resident claims.

Also Read: Digvijaya Singh Holds Indore Mayor Responsible for Water Contamination Deaths