IMPHAL: When a rain struck Manipur on Saturday, the odds were that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not make it to the Kuki heartland of Churachandpur, but he did.
PM Modi, perhaps, unwittingly did what Vajpayee had resorted to on a rainy October afternoon in 2003 in Nagaland.
When Vajpayee’s helicopter could not take off from Nagaland’s commercial hub Dimapur to the state capital Kohima due to inclement weather, he took the bumpy ride to Kohima by highway.
Ditto.
PM Modi faced bad weather and hence, took the road from Imphal to Churachandpur, located about 60 km from the Imphal airport, in southern Manipur. Vajpayee had travelled a little more -- 75 km.
“We thought he might not come now that the weather was bad,” said Daniel Haokip, a Churachandpur resident who was in the audience. It has been nearly four decades since a PM visited Churachandpur. The excitement among the locals was palpable.
As he arrived, hundreds of people stood by the roadside with the Indian tri-colour to welcome him.
“Modiji,” shouted a bystander while children were almost hysterical, shouting the PM’s name. The festooning that was arranged and a new slick road -- from the helipad to the Peace Ground in Churachandpur did not have much use then.
As PM made his way to the secure stage decked up for him and state governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the attendance surprised many. In Imphal too, only two were seated on the dais. There was no politician.
A school boy presented PM Modi with a straw hat with feathers on it that the PM donned as he chatted with the kids. A girl presented him with another gift, but the namastes from the children seemed more heart-warming. Northeast’s tribals usually shake hands in greetings.
PM Modi took the same road back to Imphal, and during the speech, he expressed how overwhelmed he was with the reception on the way.
People who went to listen to him had a harrowing time navigating a 50-metre muddy and slippery stretch inside the Kangla Fort. Water had seeped into the place where the crowd was seated.
Despite protests from the Opposition and a women’s group, the atmosphere at the Kangla Fort was of anticipation and earnestness.
After the PM left, the members of the women’s group took out a protest march but were stopped on the way by security personnel.