Have you joined SP? Ravi Kishan, BJP councillor spar over Gorakhpur waterlogging

A waterlogging crisis in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur triggered a sharp exchange between BJP MP Ravi Kishan and a party councillor, after the latter called the actor-politician seeking the opening of a water regulator.

Vishwajit Tripathi, councillor from Gorakhpur's Betiahata ward, said he contacted Ravi Kishan to request that the water regulator be opened amid severe waterlogging in the city.

According to Tripathi, the Gorakhpur MP responded by asking whether he had joined the Samajwadi Party (SP).

“You are talking as if you have joined the SP?” Ravi Kishan said, according to the account of the conversation.

Tripathi hit back, asking whether the MP had joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

“If there is waterlogging, does that mean I have joined the SP? Where have you joined Minister sir? Have you joined BSP?” Tripathi responded.

The confrontation has brought renewed scrutiny to the MP’s earlier remarks comparing Gorakhpur’s development to Spain.

Defending the administrative response, Ravi Kishan said the intensity of the rainfall was unprecedented in nearly two decades. He added that municipal pumps had been deployed and that water levels would recede once the rain stopped.

He also toured parts of the city to assess the situation and hear residents’ grievances.

The exchange came as heavy rain left large parts of Gorakhpur waterlogged, with water entering homes, shops, streets and neighbourhoods.

Residents reported flooding inside their houses and shops, while several areas were also facing power outages.RAVI KISHAN'S RESIDENCE FLOODED

Videos and pictures showed extensive waterlogging in the area, with water remaining outside the residence on the morning of the second day.

In Betiahata, the house of a resident, Sandhya Yadav, was also severely inundated. Water entered the rooms and kitchen, submerging household belongings including a refrigerator and other items.

On Saturday, Gorakhpur recorded a staggering 164 mm of rainfall between 4.30 pm and 6.45 pm, with 115 mm falling in just one hour between 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm—an intensity exceeding that of a cloudburst.

Four people, including a woman and a teenager, were killed in two separate incidents during this period.

The heavy downpour uprooted trees and toppled utility poles across the city, while roads were turned into ponds.- Ends