Northeast Saw How PM Modi Abandoned Manipur: Congress

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ‘ignoring’ the situation of violence-hit Manipur by ‘abandoning’ the north-eastern state at the time when his intervention and outreach were needed the most.

In his post on X, Jairam Ramesh said that the PM cannot escape accountability and responsibility by completely ‘ignoring’ the crisis.

“The people of Manipur and the entire Northeast are closely watching how the Prime Minister has abandoned the state of Manipur at a time when his intervention and outreach were needed the most. He cannot escape accountability and responsibility by completely ignoring the crisis,” the Congress leader said.

Raising several questions regarding the Prime Minister’s “lack of action” in the Manipur issue, Jairam Ramesh also questioned why the Prime Minister has not met with the Chief Minister of Manipur and elected MLAs of the state, a large majority of whom belong to his party or are its allies.

“Why has the PM who pontificates on all subjects not seen it fit to speak about Manipur publicly for more than 4-5 minutes at most, that too in a routine manner and after immense pressure from the Opposition?,” the Congress leader said.

He further asked why the Union Minister of State for External Affairs, who represents Manipur (Inner) in the Lok Sabha, has not been able to meet the PM over the issue.

“Why has the PM, who loves to travel at the drop of a hat, not seen it fit to spend even a few hours in Manipur to show his concern? Why is the CM who is so thoroughly discredited across sections of Manipur’s society still being allowed to continue?” he added.

Manipur has been witnessing violence since May 3, following the protests by the Kuki and Meitei communities against the High Court’s order asking the state government to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the category of Scheduled Tribes (ST). (ANI)