New Delhi, Jan 6 (UNI) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that its much-touted “triple-engine” model of governance has failed to provide even basic civic amenities, after reports emerged of hundreds falling ill due to contaminated drinking water in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, following a similar incident in Indore.
In a statement posted on his WhatsApp channel, Yadav said the spread of waterborne illnesses in BJP-ruled cities exposed “deep-rooted corruption and administrative collapse” under the saffron party. “After Indore, now hundreds of people have fallen ill due to polluted drinking water in Gandhinagar. This is the reality of the BJP’s so-called ‘triple-engine’ government,” he said.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that the BJP was incapable of managing even municipal bodies, let alone state and national governments. “If the BJP cannot even run a nagar palika properly, how will it run a state or the country?” he asked.
Yadav accused the BJP of unprecedented corruption, claiming it had eroded accountability in public services. “Such deception with water can only be done by those whose conscience has dried up due to corruption. In Uttar Pradesh too, news keeps coming of water tanks collapsing under the weight of the BJP’s corruption,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Centre’s flagship slogan, Yadav remarked that public sentiment had turned cynical. “Because of the BJP’s corruption, the slogan ‘Jal se Jeevan Hai’ (Water is life) has turned into ‘Jal se Jeevan ko Khatra Hai’ (Water threatens life),” he said.
Questioning the BJP’s explanations, Yadav pointed out that while the party had blamed Indore’s problems on old localities, Gandhinagar—developed under the Smart City mission with newly laid pipelines—had no such excuse. “In Indore, they are blaming old settlements. But in Gandhinagar, where new pipelines were laid under the Smart City project, what excuse will they make now?” he asked.
Invoking the BJP’s long-projected “Gujarat model” of development, the SP chief said people were rejecting both the party and its claims. “The public is saying that if this is the ‘Gujarat model of development’, then neither the BJP nor its model is acceptable. If the BJP goes, lives will be saved,” he said.
