Congress calls PM Modi's Manipur visit 'tokenism' and a 'grave insult' to the state

"Your 3-hour pit stop in Manipur is not compassion — it’s farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to wounded people,” Mallikarjun Kharge said, as Congress accused Modi of ignoring 864 days of violence, displacement, and suffering.

New Delhi: Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Manipur a "pit stop", the Congress on Saturday alleged that the trip is "tokenism" and a "grave insult" to the people of the state.

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 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!" the Congress chief said in his post on X.

"864 days of violence:-- 300 lives 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 was shielded from scrutiny, by imposing President's Rule in the state. Violence still continues," he 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, he claimed.

"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 said.

Speaking with reporters in Wayanad, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the PM and said he should have visited the state long before.

"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's visit, calling it a "belated, face-saving farce".

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

Manipur has been burning since 2023, and he found time to pay a visit today - after 2.5 years, Venugopal said on X.

"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 that 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 will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 8,500 crore in the state.

The prime minister is on a three-day visitto Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar.