Amid Water Deaths, Indore Collector, Mayor Visit RSS Office, Congress Irked

A political controversy has erupted in Madhya Pradesh after Indore Collector Shivam Verma and Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava visited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office late on Wednesday night, triggering sharp reactions from the Opposition and raising questions over administrative neutrality -- especially at a time when the city is grappling with deaths caused by contaminated drinking water.

According to sources, the Collector and the Mayor visited the newly inaugurated RSS office, 'Sudarshan' in Rambagh, Indore, and stayed there for around one-and-a-half hours.

Sources said that the meeting focused on the deaths in Bhagirathpura, allegedly caused by contaminated water, and on the lack of coordination between administrative and elected bodies.

It is learnt that Rajmohan, the RSS province pracharak of Malwa, held a closed-door, one-on-one discussion with the Collector and the Mayor. 

Sources said the Mayor was sharply reprimanded for his handling of the crisis. It was emphasised that officials must work in coordination with elected representatives, they added.

Mayor Bhargava had arrived at the RSS office in a government vehicle, which dropped him at the gates and left. He returned in his private vehicle after the meeting concluded. 

Asked by the media, Mayor Bhargava said, "I keep visiting the RSS office. I came today as well, quite naturally."

The Congress has announced that it will file a complaint with the Department of Personnel and Training or DoPT against Collector Shivam Verma over the visit, alleging violation of administrative impartiality. 

Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari launched a scathing attack. "When poison is flowing from taps in Indore, when innocent citizens have died and families are in mourning, should the Collector be in hospitals and among the affected families or in the RSS office?"

Calling the visit a "blatant disregard for administrative neutrality," Patwari said, "Is the administration now accountable to the RSS instead of the public? Are constitutional authorities now taking instructions behind closed doors from an organisation aligned with the ruling party?"

He alleged that the episode showed the administration was no longer independent and that public interest had become secondary.

The BJP dismissed the criticism. BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma said there was nothing objectionable about anyone visiting the RSS office. Only those who believed in national service and chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" visited the RSS office, he said.

"The RSS is only concerned with the nation and its flag. There should be no objection if any Collector, SP, leader or citizen visits the Sangh office. Congress leaders should also go. Who is stopping them?"

Meanwhile, the BJP has also activated its organisational machinery over the Bhagirathpura incident.

In Indore, BJP Organisational General Secretary Hitanand Sharma held a closed-door meeting with the Mayor, local councillor Kamal Waghela, MIC member Bablu Sharma, and state general secretary Gaurav Randive. He reportedly instructed them to work in coordination and avoid making unnecessary public statements.

This is not the first time such an issue has surfaced in Madhya Pradesh. 

In 2023, photographs of then Satna Collector Anurag Verma and Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Shahi attending an RSS training camp and participating in prayers with BJP leaders had gone viral, triggering a similar debate over bureaucratic neutrality.