Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first trip to Manipur since the outbreak of ethnic violence in 2023 triggered a fierce backlash from opposition leaders, who accused him of neglecting the state for two years and called the visit a "farce".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the three hour stopover as a “grave insult” to the people. In a post on X, he wrote: “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 pointed to the toll of the violence since May 2023: “300 lives lost, 67,000 displaced, 1,500 plus injured” and accused Modi of making 46 foreign trips in the meantime while avoiding Manipur.
He said the BJP led government had abdicated its “basic constitutional responsibilities” and hidden behind President’s Rule.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the visit saying PM Modi should have visited long ago.
“I am glad that he has decided after two years that it’s worth his visiting. He should have visited much long before.
It’s very unfortunate that he has allowed what is happening there to happen for so long, so many people to get killed and so many people to go through so much strife before he has decided to visit,” she told reporters in Wayanad.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal also lashed out at the prime minister's visit, calling it a "belated, face saving farce".
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah called the visit a "good thing" and called for peace and calm to be restored in the conflict-hit state "It's a good thing.
There has been a lot of commentary about the fact that PM Modi has avoided travelling to that part of the country, particularly after the violence that broke out in 2023.
As we say, better late than never, and it's a good thing that he is visiting. We hope that peace and calm are restored and differences between the two tribal communities are reduced to the point where people are able to live their lives normally," he said.
