Digvijaya Singh announced Congress will analyse its poor BMC election results. He also slammed the Indore administration over deaths from contaminated water, alleging corruption and demanding a judicial probe into the civic body's negligence.
Congress to analyse BMC poll debacle
Reacting to the dismal performance of the Congress at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, party leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday said his party will hold a detailed analysis of the outcome, adding that other Opposition parties would also do the same.
Speaking to ANI in Indore, Digvijaya Singh said, "The results have certainly gone in their favour, but that doesn't mean they won because of the work they did. The Congress party will analyse the election results. Uddhav Thackeray's party will do the same, as well as the NCP (SP) and would reflect accordingly."
The BMC elections saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) alliance emerge as the single largest bloc, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance also secured a significant share of seats and votes across Mumbai.
According to official figures released by the Election Commission and the BMC, the BJP won 89 seats. Its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 29 seats. Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest bloc in the BMC. On the other hand the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats. The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats. Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won eight seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured three seats, the Samajwadi Party won two seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won one seat.
Singh demands judicial probe into Indore water contamination deaths
Meanwhile, Digvijaya Singh has raised serious allegations against the local administration in indore over recent deaths linked to contaminated water. He demanded a judicial probe into the matter and accused the civic body of corruption and negligence.
The water contamination incident in Indore's Bhagirathpura has sparked widespread criticism, as it claimed several lives and affected many families.
Digvijaya Singh said to ANI, "Administration's carelessness caused several deaths as it could be controlled effectively if timely actions were taken to treat contaminated water. We demand a judicial enquiry with a public hearing of the case to expose the corruption of Indore Nagar Nigam."
'Govt probe a cover-up'
Slamming the ongoing government investigation as a "cover-up", Digvijaya Singh said suspending or transferring a few lower-level employees does not address the root of the problem.
"The investigation that the government is conducting is a mere cover-up. Some lower-level employees have been suspended and transferred, but the root cause of this entire incident is corruption, and the way the municipal corporation is operating is completely corrupt," he said.
"The entire municipal corporation is steeped in corruption. This will not be exposed until the municipal corporation's files are made public. This will only happen when there is an open inquiry and investigation; only then will the culprits be identified," Congress leader further added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Indore today to meet the families of victims who died due to sewage contamination. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)