Congress former chief Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Manipur has drawn sharp reactions from BJP that has accused him of “trying to add fuel instead of assuaging people’s hurt sentiments and feelings”. As Gandhi’s visit to the northeast coincides with PM Narendra Modi travelling to Russia, the Congress slammed PM Narendra Modi for not making the long-due trip to Manipur but visiting Russia.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya, who called the violence in Manipur a “legacy” of the Congress, also accused the newly installed Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha of indulging in “sick tragedy tourism”.
“The ethnic conflict in Manipur is a legacy of the Congress party. The state has witnessed the killing of civilians, police and Army personnel for decades, while the Congress was in power,” said Malviya.
The Congress, meanwhile, slammed Prime Minister Modi over his visit to Russia and not making a trip to Manipur since the ethnic violence broke out there.
In his visit to the northeast, Gandhi first met flood-affected people and displaced Kuki-Zo members in BJP-ruled Assam before heading to neighbouring Manipur where he interacted with people affected by the year-long ethnic violence.
He requested prime minister Narendra Modi to visit Manipur for a day or two and listen to the people of the strife-torn state, which Rahul said was “split in two”.
“The aim of Gandhi’s visit to the northeast as the Leader of Opposition is also to send the message that it is high time PM Modi also visited the troubled state, suffering due to the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi communities since May last year,” claims Congress.
Notably, while initiating the debate on behalf of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks for the President’s address last week, Gandhi accused the ruling BJP of pushing Manipur into a “civil war” and criticised PM Modi for not visiting the state since ethnic violence broke out there.
This was Rahul’s third visit to the northeastern state which witnessed ethnic strife for over a year that has left around 229 killed, 1,500 injured and 67,000 displaced.
