Rahul Gandhi meets victims’ family, assures help
GORAKHPUR: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the families of four children who died in the BRD Medical College tragedy.
Rahul visited these families in four villages despite a flood scare and chief minister Yogi Adityanath criticising the Congress leader and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav separate visits to Gorakhpur.
Rahul assured all possible help and support to the families of the victims as he heard them out.
Ahead of the visit, he reportedly told his security personnel that his motorcade should not have any ambulance and doctors. They should be deployed for the aid of encephalitis patients instead, he said.
Rahul first visited the house of Brahmdev Yadav at Baghaghada village on the outskirts of Gorakhpur city. Brahmdev lost his twins, who were born on August 1, on August 9 and 10 in the BRD Medical College tragedy.
Akhilesh Yadav too had visited Brahmdev on August 14.
“Rahulji assured all possible help, including efforts to get me a job. He asked me to narrate the sequence of events at the BRD Medical College. I did that. Akhileshji gave me ₹2 lakh as aid,” said Brahmdev soon after Rahul’s one-hour stay at his house.
Later, Rahul visited Nitish Shukla’s house at Mallav village, Ramashakar’s house in Bisauli Khurd and Jitendra’s home at Khutauna village.
As Rahul left the first village, heavy rain lashed Gorakhpur, leading to cancellation of his visit to BRD Medical College scheduled at 4 pm. Instead, the Congress announced that Rahul will hold a press conference at 4 pm.
Earlier, chief minister Adityanath reached Gorakhpur two hours before Rahul. Launching a cleanliness drive, he lashed out at Rahul and Akhilesh without naming them, and accused them of treating Gorakhpur as a ‘picnic spot’. Both opposition leaders have repeatedly demanded the CM’s resignation over the tragedy.