On June 29 and 30, Congressman Rahul Gandhi will travel to the violently disturbed Manipur. According to Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, he will visit the relief camps and speak with civil society groups in Churachandpur and Imphal during his tour.
“Manipur has been burning for nearly two months, and desperately needs a healing touch so that the society can move from conflict to peace. This is a humanitarian tragedy and it is our responsibility to be a force of love, not hate,” Venugopal wrote on Twitter, announcing Gandhi’s Manipur visit.
Conflicts between the hill areas’ dominant Kuki clan and the plain-dwelling Meitei group have caused unprecedented bloodshed in the northeastern state since May 3. More than 110 people have died as a result of the violence so far, and many more have been forced to flee their homes.
Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “silence” over the circumstances in Manipur. “When the prime minister is away from the country, an all-party meeting is called. It is evident that the Prime Minister does not value this meeting, Gandhi recently tweeted.
Amit Shah, the Union home minister, presided over the all-party meeting on June 24. The Prime Minister was noticeably absent. According to Gandhi’s party, it simply demonstrated Modi’s “cowardice and unwillingness to confront his failures” and the BJP government’s “lack of seriousness” on the issue.
Manipur’s situation is still dire, and there have been reports of violence in several different areas of the state. The state’s chief minister, N. Biren Singh, has been called out for his incompetence and partisan behaviour by a number of parliamentarians, including those from the BJP.
