Congress Capitalizes on Rahul Gandhi’s Visit to Manipur on July 8th, Fostering Unity While Advocating for Change in Approach to PM Modi.

Rahul Gandhi to visit Manipur

The leader of the opposition and the Congress party Rahul Gandhi is all set to visit Manipur on Monday as mentioned by some of the senior leaders of the Congress party. This will be his third visit to Manipur, since May last year. They mentioned how this will send a message to the Prime Minister that it is high time that he should visit this conflict-ridden state.

S

Source: ABP News

Days after emphasising the Manipur crisis and other issues during his speech in the Lok Sabha while participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi is poised to visit the embattled Northeastern state on Monday.

During his one-day visit to Manipur, Rahul Gandhi will be visiting relief camps of the trouble-stricken people in three different places which will be Jiribam, Churachandpur (districts), and Moirang (Bishnupur district). He will also be meeting Governor Anusuiya Uikey to discuss the crisis.

His visit to Jiribam town holds significance, as it had largely avoided clashes until June this year, when a killing shattered its fragile year-long peace. 

The All India Congress Committee mentioned how the Congress has repeatedly said how the PM Narendra Modi has not visited Manipur since last year’s May. And now it’s time for us to practice what we preach, and that’s why Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Manipur for the third time now. The message this sends is crystal clear, that our leader will do everything that the PM refuses to do.

The leader asserted that this action would also communicate to the public that “while PM Modi is visiting foreign countries, our leader is standing with the people of a state which has been neglected despite being in turmoil for so long.” PM Modi is scheduled to visit Russia on July 8-9, followed by Austria on July 9-10.

The All India Congress Committee in charge of Manipur Girish Chodankar mentioned that this is Rahul Gandhi’s first official visit to Manipur after becoming the LOP in the Lok Sabha. He has visited Hathras and Ahmedabad before. The visit to Hathras was to meet the victims of the stampede incident, while the visit to Ahmedabad was to meet party workers and leaders.

Source: India Today

We want to demonstrate that Manipur is an integral part of India… Rahul Gandhi’s visit is not political, but purely to show solidarity with the people of Manipur. He is going there with a message of compassion. Where there is hatred, he will respond with love. We hope that the PM will also visit Manipur, especially after seeing Rahul Gandhi make his third visit since the violence began,” said Chodankar.

The opposition(Congress) has consistently raised the issue of the Manipur crisis in both the houses of the Parliament.

On the 2nd July 2024, PM Modi gave a more than two hour long reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address, this was disturbed by the opposition by raising the slogans of “Justice for Manipur” and “Bharat Jodo”. The Manipur issue was not mentioned in President Droupadi Murmu’s address to both Houses of Parliament on June 27.

Source: Marathi News

Highlighting this, the newly-elected Congress MP from Inner Manipur, A Bimol Akoijam, on July 1, strongly criticized the Modi government for “neglecting” the state.

“Is this silence conveying to the people of the Northeast and especially Manipur that you are marginalized in the Indian State’s agenda?” Akoijam posed his question to the Lower House late at night, shortly after Gandhi had voiced concerns about the Manipur crisis during his speech.

On July 3, in his response in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi asserted that his government has been making every effort to restore peace in Manipur. Urging the Opposition to move beyond political agendas regarding the Manipur issue, the PM also stated, “Certain elements are exacerbating the situation, and such elements will be rejected by the people of Manipur.”

Modi also highlighted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the state and “stayed there (in Manipur) for days.” He also reminded the Congress of the unrest that Manipur faced in 1993 when the party was in power at the Centre.

The Congress refuted PM Modi’s statement, challenging his “astonishing claim” that the situation in Manipur is normal. As observed by the MP from Inner Manipur in the Lok Sabha on July 1st, the situation continues to be tense,” remarked Jairam Ramesh, AICC’s general secretary in charge of communications.

Congress leaders say that Gandhi’s visit will also serve to “express gratitude to the people of Manipur” for giving both Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Before the elections, Rahul Gandhi visited the state twice, including the commencement of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (his second Yatra) from Manipur. Now that we have won both its Lok Sabha seats, people should know that he will stand by them even after the polls,” said another Congress leader.

On January 14 this year, Gandhi launched the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Imphal, which concluded in Mumbai on March 18. Before starting the Yatra, Gandhi had accused Manipur of being a victim of “the BJP and RSS’s politics of hate.”

Source: The Hindu

On June 30 last year, Rahul Gandhi made his first visit to Manipur after the ethnic violence erupted. He stayed for two days but was stopped by police while travelling by road to Churachandpur. He subsequently reached the town by helicopter in the evening.

During his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi frequently addressed the issue of violence in Manipur in his rallies across the country.

In the elections, Akoijam decisively defeated the ruling BJP’s Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh in Inner Manipur by 1.09 lakh votes. In Outer Manipur, the Congress’s Alfred Kan-Ngam Arthur secured victory over NDA ally NPF’s Kachui Timothy Zimik by 85,418 votes.