BHOPAL: The ruling BJP government on Thursday hit back at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi hours after his visit to Balaghat, where he met families of tribal children who have died over the past four months amid reported cases of infectious diseases, malnutrition and inadequate healthcare.
Madhya Pradesh BJP President Hemant Khandelwal questioned Gandhi over the Congress’s record on Naxalism in Balaghat and adjoining areas, citing the 1999 killing of Congress minister Likhiram Kawre by Maoists.
“Rahul Gandhi needs to tell us during whose rule in Madhya Pradesh Naxalism flourished in Balaghat. During whose regime was Congress’s own state minister Likhiram Kawre brutally murdered by Left-wing extremists? The LoP needs to respond to these questions,” Khandelwal said.
He also asked how many times Gandhi had visited Kawre’s family since the minister’s killing.
Kawre, who was transport minister in the Digvijaya Singh-led Congress government, was killed by armed Maoists at his residence in Balaghat district on the intervening night of December 15 and 16, 1999. His daughter, Hina Kawre, later represented the Lanji Assembly constituency as a Congress MLA from 2013 to 2023 and served as deputy speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.
Khandelwal claimed that Naxalism had hampered development in Balaghat and neighbouring districts for decades. He said the complete elimination of Left-wing extremism from the region by the end of 2025 was the result of the efforts of the Mohan Yadav government under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“If Naxalism has been completely uprooted from Balaghat and adjoining districts, it is due to the efforts of the Dr Mohan Yadav-led government under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Why couldn’t the Congress eliminate Naxalism? Rahul Gandhi needs to tell us,” he said.
Khandelwal added that the security situation had earlier slowed infrastructure development in the region and claimed the state government was now focusing on roads and other infrastructure after the removal of the Naxal threat.
State Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla also criticised Gandhi over his visit and his remarks against the state government.
Shukla questioned the Congress’s record on Left-wing extremism during the successive UPA governments at the Centre.
“It was during the successive Congress-led UPA regimes at the Centre that Left-wing extremism spread its tentacles across the country and efforts were made to build a red corridor from Pashupatinath to Tirupati. Why did the central governments of that time fail to check the spread of Naxalism? Rahul Gandhi needs to tell us,” Shukla said.
Shukla described Gandhi’s visit as “dramatic” and accused the Congress of failing to address security and development challenges in Naxal-affected regions. He claimed that the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had improved education, healthcare, nutrition, roads, telecommunications and women’s empowerment after tackling Left-wing extremism.
The BJP leaders’ remarks came hours after Gandhi visited Jagla village in Balaghat’s Birsa block, where he met families affected by the deaths of more than 30 tribal children. Gandhi accused the state and central governments of abandoning tribal communities and said he would raise their concerns in the Lok Sabha.
The deaths, reported mainly from Birsa and Baihar blocks, have become a political flashpoint. The Opposition Congress has alleged that more than 43 children have died. Authorities have cited multiple clinical causes, including measles, malaria, co-infections, respiratory distress, dehydration, malnutrition and anaemia. Official figures have been lower than the numbers cited by the Opposition and some sections of the media.
The state government has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the bereaved families. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has also sought the state’s response to a public interest litigation alleging inadequate treatment and claiming that around 400 children were being treated at a hospital with a capacity of 50 beds.