New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi landed in Imphal Thursday to begin his two-day tour of strife-torn Manipur.
He will visit relief camps and meet people displaced by the ethnic clashes, and will also hold talks with civil society organisations.
This is the first visit of the Congress leader to the northeastern state since violence broke out on 3 May between hill-based Kuki tribes and valley-based Meitei non-tribals.
State Congress leader Kh Debabrata said Gandhi will visit relief camps in Churachandpur and Moirang on Thursday. On Friday, he will visit two more camps and meet party leaders in capital Imphal.
Manipur Pradesh Committee president Keisham Meghachandra Singh said the situation in the state was one of unrest and violence. “Normalcy has not been established yet. The double-engine government (BJP) has not been able to control the situation. We have no expectation from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The intelligence network has collapsed too,” he said.
Singh questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was still silent on the violence. “Why is he not hearing our sorrows? The entire people of Manipur are asking questions to the Honourable Prime Minister. Why is he silent… It will be two months and violence continues… We are bonafide citizens of India. We are also part of India,” Singh added.
AICC in-charge of Northeast Ajoy Kumar said the Centre was trying to obliterate Manipur from news coverage. “Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have repeatedly raised the Manipur issue…. Over 200 have died, 1,000 houses have been burnt, 700 churches and temples have been destroyed. This is not a double-engine but a triple-problem government… Rahulji is a common citizen and is visiting Manipur. What is Modiji doing? The PM should learn from Rahulji,” Kumar said.
The Opposition has criticised Modi for not saying a word about Manipur in the last two months, particularly in the latest edition of his “Mann Ki Baat” on 18 June where he 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 slammed the Centre’s inability to curb violence in the BJP-ruled state and demanded the immediate visit of an all-party delegation.
In a statement, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress accused the Centre of “ignoring” the needs of the people of Manipur and wondered whether the Centre was “trying to turn Manipur into Kashmir”.
RJD’s Manoj Jha said after the meeting: “Everybody emphasised on the thought that Manipur requires a healing touch and for that, it requires a face that must unite and not a face that divides.”
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