Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Hemant Khandelwal on Thursday, 1 October 2026, hit back at Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi following the latter's visit to Balaghat, where Gandhi met tribal families and alleged that the BJP government had failed to address healthcare, malnutrition, education and basic infrastructure deficits in the region. Khandelwal demanded that the Congress account for its own record in tribal areas during the party's extended time in power.

Rahul Gandhi's Balaghat Visit

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Balaghat on Thursday and met tribal families, including those affected by the deaths of children. After the interaction, he publicly raised concerns about the state of healthcare, nutrition, schooling and basic facilities in the tribal belt, squarely blaming the BJP state government for the continued neglect.

BJP's Counter: 'Answer for Your Own Tenure'

Responding swiftly, Khandelwal said Gandhi was welcome to engage with citizens and hear their grievances, but insisted that the Congress could not evade its own responsibilities. 'LoP Rahul Gandhi should also give an account of the Congress' long rule,' Khandelwal said. He argued that many of the very problems Gandhi raised today — inadequate roads, weak healthcare, poor schooling and absent basic amenities — had persisted through years of Congress governance and questioned why the party had failed to resolve them during its own tenures in power.

Naxalism and the Likhiram Kanwre Reference

Khandelwal also raised the issue of Naxalism in Balaghat, invoking the killing of former minister and senior Congress leader Likhiram Kanwre by Naxalites. He asked Gandhi and the Congress to explain what concrete steps their government had taken to counter Naxalism at the time, and whether Gandhi had visited Kanwre's family to understand their suffering. 'Congress cannot escape its responsibility merely by asking questions,' Khandelwal said, pressing the party to answer for the policy outcomes — or lack thereof — during its years in government.

BJP's Claims on Current Development

The MP BJP state president asserted that the current government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in the state, had strengthened security in Naxal-affected areas while accelerating development work. He said the administration was working to expand roads, schools, healthcare facilities and other basic infrastructure in remote tribal regions, framing the BJP's approach as a constructive contrast to what he characterised as Congress's rhetorical opposition.

The Political Context

This comes amid a broader pattern of Congress outreach to tribal constituencies ahead of electoral cycles, with Gandhi making repeated visits to conflict-affected and marginalised communities across states. Notably, Balaghat has historically been sensitive both on tribal welfare indicators and on the Naxal security front, making Gandhi's visit politically loaded. The BJP's rapid counter-messaging signals that the party is alert to the optics of opposition leaders drawing attention to tribal distress in regions the party governs.