NEW DELHI: Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur a ‘belated farce’, the Opposition parties, including Congress, CPM, TMC and National Conference (NC) on Saturday alleged that the trip is a grave insult to the people of the state.
Accusing the PM of organising a grand welcome ceremony for himself, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that it “is a cruel prick” to the wounds of those still suffering.
“Narendra Modi ji, your 3-hour pit stop in Manipur is not compassion -- it’s farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to wounded people. Your so-called roadshow in Imphal and Churachandpur today, is nothing but a cowardly escape from hearing the cries of people in relief camps!” Kharge said in a post on X.
“864 days of violence:-- 300 lives lost, 67,000 displaced, 1,500 plus injured. You have made 46 foreign trips since, but not a single visit to share two words of sympathy with your own citizens,” Kharge said.
“Your last visit to Manipur? January 2022 for elections! Your ‘Double Engine’ has bulldozed the innocent lives of Manipur. You and Home Minister Amit Shah’s gross incompetence and complicity in betraying all communities was shielded from scrutiny, by imposing President’s Rule in the state. Violence still continues,” he said.
Speaking with reporters in Wayanad, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the PM and said he should have visited the state long before.“I am glad that he has decided, after two years, that it is worth visiting Manipur. He should have gone long before. It is very unfortunate that he has allowed what is happening there to continue for so long...,” she said.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal also lashed out at the Prime Minister’s visit, calling it a “belated, face-saving farce”.
Meanwhile, CPM MP John Brittas said, “The Opposition parties, have always been saying, ‘Let the PM lead a delegation of all the parties to Manipur so that we can bring back that state into peace and tranquility...” The TMC, in a post on X said India cannot afford a Prime Minister who remembers its states, only when they lie in ruins.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, “It’s a good thing that there has been a lot of commentary on PM Modi avoiding travelling to that part of our country. Better late than never.”
PM’s day out in Manipur
1. On the streets, many enthusiasts furiously clicked on their mobile phones to capture the occasion, while others stood waving placards and banners with slogans in praise of the PM. They greeted him with cheers and national flags. Modi waved at the people and accepted their greetings with folded hands from inside his vehicle.
2. PM said his government was committed to “healing wounds, restoring confidence, and ensuring no family is left behind”, while addressing a public meeting in Imphal’s Kangla Fort. “Manipur is the ‘ratna’ adorning the crown of ‘mother India’. Any form of violence here is condemnable... Together, we must take Manipur forward on the path of peace and development,” he said.
3. Modi listened to the concerns of the families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the historic Kangla Fort complex in Imphal and Peace Ground in Churachandpur, and assured them of the Centre’s commitment to restore peace and normalcy in the state, they said.“A short while ago, I met the affected people at a relief camp. After meeting them, I can say with confidence that a new dawn of hope and trust is rising in Manipur,” Modi said in Churachandpur.