Sewage worker death: Swacch Bharat a 'hollow slogan', says Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swacch Bharat' as a "hollow slogan" and accused him of turning a blind eye to the plight of thousands of manual scavengers.

Gandhi took to Twitter and shared a picture a boy mourning the death of his father, who lost his life while cleaning a sewage.

"Anil's tragic death in the sewers of Delhi & photographs of his grieving son have made headlines worldwide. Our PM's "Swacch Bharat" is a hollow slogan, when he's blind to the plight of thousands of manual scavengers forced to excavate toilets & sewer lines in inhuman conditions," he tweeted.

A sewage worker lost his life due to asphyxiation while cleaning a Delhi Jal Board sewer in Dabri on September 14.

This comes after five sanitation workers suffocated to death after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a sewer in Moti Nagar area on September 9.