‘Government doesn’t exist here,’ says Rahul Gandhi after meeting Balaghat families who lost children
Rahul Gandhi visited Balaghat to address the deaths of over 30 tribal children due to poor healthcare and lack of basic facilities. He criticized both the Union and Madhya Pradesh governments for failing to provide adequate support, land rights, and employment schemes to the tribal community.
Why it matters
The report underscores ongoing tensions regarding public health crises and the implementation of social welfare schemes in marginalized tribal regions.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (October 1, 2026) accused the Union and Madhya Pradesh governments of abandoning the tribal community without basic facilities, speaking in Balaghat where more than 30 tribal children have died in the past three months due to monsoon-related illnesses, poor immunity, and lack of access to healthcare.
Terming such tragedies a failure of the State’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Mr. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said that he would raise the issues of tribals in Parliament.
“The facilities like health, education, and employment that the government should have provided, have been shut here. It feels as if these people have been left in the middle of India and the Government of India and the Government of Madhya Pradesh are not present here,” he said, speaking to reporters after visiting the affected families.
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