Congress criticises PM Modi’s Manipur visit two years after 2023 violence

Guwahati: Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur, coming two years after ethnic violence erupted in the state.

Priyanka Gandhi, speaking to reporters in Wayanad, Kerala, said the delay in visiting the violence-hit region was “very unfortunate.” She added, “He has allowed what is happening there to continue for so long, with so many lives lost and people facing immense suffering, before deciding to visit. Traditionally, Prime Ministers have visited areas in distress irrespective of party. This visit should have happened much earlier.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described Modi’s planned three-hour trip as “a farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to a wounded people.” He criticised the scheduled roadshow in Imphal and Churachandpur as “a cowardly escape” from engaging with residents in relief camps.

“864 days of violence: around 300 lives lost, 67,000 displaced, 1,500 injured. You made 46 foreign trips since, but not a single visit to offer sympathy to your citizens. Your last visit to Manipur? January 2022 — for elections,” Kharge said in a post on X.

Kharge also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the “gross incompetence and complicity” of both ministers was shielded from scrutiny after President’s Rule was imposed in the state. “Violence continues. The BJP was responsible for law and order, and the Union government is again dithering. National security and border management responsibilities also lie with your government,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi began a three-day tour on September 13 covering Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar.

In Manipur, he will lay the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at Churachandpur, including the Manipur Urban Roads, drainage and asset management project (Rs 3,600 crore), five national highway projects (Rs 2,500 crore), the Manipur Infotech Development (MIND) project, and working women’s hostels at nine locations.

Later, he will inaugurate development projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore in Imphal and address a public gathering.