Manipur going through very difficult time: Rahul Gandhi as BJP, Congress trade barbs over his visit

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Manipur needs "healing" as people are going through "a very, very difficult time" due to the violence that erupted on May 3. Peace, he added, should be the only priority.

"You are going through a very, very difficult time due to the tragic incidents," Gandhi said in a brief speech while addressing representatives of the civil society organisations and churches in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district, where the violence first broke out on May 3. More than 100 people have died and over 60,000 others left displaced since then.

"I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur...Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority," Rahul posted on social media before his Churachandpur speech.

Congress-BJP tussle

Gandhi's visit triggered a war of words between the Opposition Congress and the BJP leaders after his convoy was stopped by police in Bishnupur district around noon on Thursday. The convoy was not allowed to travel to Churachandpur via road citing security concerns. Congress leaders were quick to condemn the act and said that it was a "political move" by the ruling BJP to stop Gandhi from reaching out to the violence-hit people.

Read | Unfortunate that govt is stopping me: Rahul Gandhi after convoy halted in Manipur

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used the incident to slam Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence over the Manipur situation. "PM Modi has not bothered to break his silence on Manipur. He has left the state to fend for itself. Now, his double-engine disastrous governments are using autocratic methods to stall a compassionate outreach by Rahul Gandhi. This is totally unacceptable and shatters all constitutional and democratic norms. Manipur needs peace, not confrontation," Kharge tweeted.

BJP leader Sambit Patra told reporters in New Delhi that Rahul Gandhi was requested by the administration to take a chopper keeping in mind security concerns. "But he was adamant," Patra said. Patra said there was also a protest against Gandhi's visit.

Police in Bishnupur even fired tear gas shells after Congress workers allegedly tried to break the barricade to clear Rahul Gandhi's road towards Churachandpur. Police said Gandhi was not allowed to take the road route as there was a possibility of attack on his convoy. Congress workers also staged protests against police action.

Gandhi later returned to state capital Imphal, situated about 20km away and took a chopper to Churachandpur. Sources said Gandhi reached the hills district at 4.10pm and first visited Greenwood relief camp at Tuibong and had lunch with children taking shelter in the camp. He later visited another relief camp at Churachandpur government college before a brief meeting with the representatives of the civil society organisations at Hiangtam. "The victims' families waited for him since 11 am. He even had to cut short his speech as he had to catch the chopper at 5 pm," a source in Churachandpur, who attended the meeting told DH.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a Kuki organisation, in a memorandum urged the former Congress president to take up their demand for "separate administration" for the Kuki-Zomi communities. The ITLF also highlighted their demand for Presidents' Rule in Manipur and removal of CM N Biren Singh for his alleged involvement in the killings of the tribals.

Rahul visited a relief camp in Meitei-dominated Imphal on Thursday evening. He is also scheduled to visit another relief camp in Bishnupur on Friday.