Days after targeting the government in Lok Sabha over the Manipur violence, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the northeastern state and interacted with the victims of the riots.
The Congress leader urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Manipur, saying the tragedy of the state was “tremendous”.
Gandhi said the Congress party would do everything possible to bring peace to Manipur.
"We will do everything we can to bring peace to Manipur... As somebody in the opposition, I have been trying to pressure the government," he said, addressing a press conference in Imphal.
"It's the third time I have come here since the problem started and it has been a tremendous tragedy. I was expecting some improvement in the situation but I was disappointed to see that the situation is still nowhere near what it should be”.
The Congress leader said violence has hurt everybody and the need of the hour is peace.
“Thousands of families have been harmed, properties have been destroyed, family members have been killed and I have never seen anywhere in India what is going on here," he said.
Manipur is a proud State of the Indian Union - every patriot should reach out and help bring back peace here.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 8, 2024
In the face of this huge tragedy, I request the Prime Minister to come here, listen to the people and offer them comfort.
Congress party is ready to support anything… pic.twitter.com/C6aplaBjnL
Earlier, Gandhi visited several relief camps in Jiribam and Churachandpur districts and interacted with the inmates.
People, living in those camps highlighted their problems during the Congress leader’s visit.
"We want separate administration. We have been suffering here for long. We have been here since the crisis. I don't think there is peace. There is still a crisis My house in Chandel district was burnt down on May 4. It has been a year now," a college student told news agency ANI. She said her house in Chandel district was burnt on May 4 last year during the violence.
After visiting the camps, the Congress leader called on Governor Anusuiya Uikey.
This is Gandhi’s first visit to Manipur after the Lok Sabha elections in which the party won both the seats from the state.
Sharing pictures of Gandhi’s visit to the relief camps, the Congress party wrote on X: “His third visit to Manipur post-violence shows his unwavering commitment to the people's cause.”
Rahul had visited the state weeks after the violence broke out and later launched his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ from the state in January 2024.
More than 200 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state since May last year while hundreds of others are staying in relief camps after being displaced from their villages.
