Rahul Gandhi reaches Rae Bareli to meet accident victims

Rae Bareli: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi rushed to Rae Bareli to meet victims of NTPC plant accident in which around 20 people have been killed while over one hundred injured in a blast.

“Due to the unfortunate NTPC accident, I will visit Rae Bareli tomorrow morning. Will join Gujarat Navsarjan Yatra in the afternoon,” Rahul Gandhi had tweeted on Wednesday night.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who represents Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha, in her condolence message said she wanted to be with the families of the victims to share their pain in this hour of grief, but could not do so due to her indisposition.

PM Narendra Modi said he was “deeply pained” by the accident at the power plant and added that the situation was being closely monitored. “Deeply pained by the accident at the NTPC plant in Raebareli. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly. The situation is being closely monitored & officials are ensuring normalcy is restored: PM @narendramodi,” the prime minister’s office tweeted.

Meanwhile, the NTPC has initiated a probe to ascertain the reasons behind the blast, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the grievously injured.