Shockingly insensitive: Cong slams PM Modi's visit to Manipur

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) The Congress Saturday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Manipur visit as a "pit stop", and said it was "shockingly insensitive" of him to be there "for less than five hours" when he has the time and inclination to spend days campaigning and travelling worldwide.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the people of Manipur have been undergoing tremendous pain, distress, suffering, and agony for the past 28 months ever since violence erupted in the state.

"The people of Manipur have waited patiently for the prime minister to visit the state. He has finally obliged them today. But he was in the state, from landing till take-off, for less than 5 hours," he said on X.

"The prime minister has the time (and the inclination) to spend days campaigning and travelling across the world. But is Manipur worth only so much to him? It is shockingly insensitive. 'Der aaye durust nahi aaye' (too late to be effective)," Ramesh said.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Modi of organising a grand welcome ceremony for himself and claimed that it "is a cruel prick" to the wounds of those still suffering. "In the words of your own... Where is your Rajdharma?" Kharge asked on X just before Modi's Manipur visit.

"Narendra Modi ji, your three-hour pit stop in Manipur is not compassion -- it's a 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!" the Congress chief said in his X post.

He also said that during the "864 days of violence, 300 lives were 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," Kharge 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 were shielded from scrutiny by imposing President's Rule in the state. Violence still continues," he said.

Keeping up with his attack on the ruling party, the Congress president said, "It is the BJP which 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!" Kharge added.

Speaking to reporters in Kerala's Wayanad, Congress general secretary and local MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the prime minister and said he should have visited the northeastern state long ago.

"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 said.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal also lashed out at the prime minister over his Manipur visit, calling it a "belated and face-saving farce".

PM Modi's Manipur visit on Saturday is a display of how sorely lacking in empathy and compassion a leader can be, he claimed.

Venogopal, in his X post, said Manipur has been burning since 2023, and the prime minister found time to pay a visit now -- after two-and-a-half years.

"This visit too is a half-hearted measure, with him spending barely a few hours there, and is clubbed with a visit to Mizoram," the Congress leader said.

He said the Modi government has neither presented a solution to address the "deep social rift that caused the civil war" nor does it have the "courage to bring warring groups together" and make a genuine attempt at peace.

"Instead, he is treating this like any other PR event, treating his grand arrival as an occasion to celebrate. Such a tone deaf, insensitive and self-aggrandising stunt will be nothing but a mockery of the people of Manipur.

"As this belated, face-saving farce takes place today, one is left to wonder whether those who peddle hate every single day can ever be messengers of peace," Venugopal said.

Modi reached Manipur on Saturday afternoon on his first visit to the state after ethnic violence broke out in May 2023. He said a strong bridge of "trust" must be built between the people of the hills and the valley in the state.

Addressing a public meeting in Imphal's Kangla Fort, the prime minister said his government was committed to "healing wounds, restoring confidence, and ensuring no family is left behind". PTI ASK NSD NSD