Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Manipur a "pit stop" and said the trip is "tokenism" and a "grave insult" to the people of the state.
PM Modi arrived in Manipur on Saturday afternoon, his first trip to the state since ethnic violence broke out in May 2023. He is scheduled to visit Kuki-dominated Churachandpur and Imphal, which is dominated by the Meitei community.
Mr Kharge accused PM Modi of organising a grand welcome ceremony for himself and claimed 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!" he posted on X.
"864 days of violence:-- 300 lives lost, 67,000 displaced, 1,500 plus injured. You made 46 foreign trips since, but not a single visit to share two words of sympathy with your own citizens," he 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 added.
The Congress chief said it is the BJP that was responsible for maintaining law and order in the state ,and it is now the Union government which is again "dithering".
"Not to forget, that is your government which is responsible for National Security and border patrol. This hush-hush pit stop isn't repentance. It's not even guilt. You are organising a grand welcome ceremony for yourself. It is a cruel prick to the wounds of those still suffering because of your own abdication of basic constitutional responsibilities," Mr Kharge said.
"In the words of your own... Where is your Rajdharma?" he asked.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said that PM Modi 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 and for so many people to be killed. That has not been the tradition of prime ministers in India," she told reporters in her Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad.
PM Modi is scheduled to interact with internally displaced people in Churachandpur and Imphal. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 8,500 crore.
Manipur Violence
The valley-dominant Meitei community and the Kuki tribes, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.
Over 260 have died in the violence, and thousands have been displaced.
The 'general' category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis, who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram, want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.
