New Delhi: The convoy of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi – who is on a two-day visit of strife-torn Manipur – was stopped by the police when he was on his way to a relief camp a little far from capital Imphal.
Party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the cavalcade stopped near Bishnupur as it tried to reach its destination Churachandpur.
“The police are saying they are not in a position to allow us. People are standing on both sides of the road to wave to Rahul Gandhi. We do not understand why they have stopped us,” Venugopal told news agency ANI.
News agency PTI reported that the police apparently feared violence on the way to Churachandpur.
Gandhi reached Imphal early afternoon to meet affected families as clashes continued unabated in the state in the grip of ethnic hostility between between hill-based Kuki tribals and valley-based Meitei non-tribals.
Rahul’s two-day itinerary has at least four relief camps where families displaced by the clashes have been put up.
Meanwhile, the All Manipur Students Union issued a statement Thursday, condemning successive governments in the state and that the Congress had to play a big role in the present communal crisis.
The union said: “We believe that the present communal crisis in Manipur is a result of the political blunders that have been committed by the successive governments that have ruled Manipur over time and Congress has a big role to play.”
Critiquing the Congress’s policies when in power, the union added: “In 2012, the Congress party deleted four gram panchayats and one zila parishad constituency — which were part of the Imphal West district – from the Manipur Panchayat Raj system… and they were allotted to come under the autonomous district council of Kangopi district. This further enhanced the dreamland of a Kuki nation state.”
Meanwhile, the Opposition has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not saying a word on the ongoing violence in Manipur, nearing two months now. In the latest edition of his “Mann Ki Baat” on 18 June, Modi spoke of India’s increased capability in handling natural disasters like Cyclone Biparjoy.
At an all-party meet last week – convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah – several Opposition leaders also slammed the Centre’s inability to curb violence in the BJP-ruled state and demanded the immediate visit of an all-party delegation.
After waiting for an hour, Gandhi returned to Imphal, prompting party leader Jairam Ramesh to tweet, “It is most unfortunate that the Modi Govt is preventing Rahul Gandhi from visiting relief camps and interact with the people outside Imphal. His 2-day visit to Msnipur is in the spirit of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Prime Minister may choose to remain silent or be inactive but why stop Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to listen to all sections of the Manipuri society and provide a healing touch.”
Also read: More than 6 weeks on, Manipur is still ablaze. It’s a saga of failures, from state govt to Centre