Rahul in Manipur: Unfortunate that govt is stopping me

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (June 29) said Manipur “needs healing” and questioned the Union government for stopping his convoy during his visit to the state.

“I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur. People of all communities are being very welcoming and loving. It’s very unfortunate that the government is stopping me. Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority,” Rahul tweeted.

The Congress hit out at the government after Rahul’s convoy was stopped by police near Bishnupur in Manipur and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using “autocratic methods” to stall his “compassionate outreach” to those hit by ethnic violence.

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I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur.

People of all communities are being very welcoming and loving. It’s very unfortunate that the government is stopping me.

Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority. pic.twitter.com/WXsnOxFLIa

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 29, 2023

The government action is “totally unacceptable and shatters all constitutional and democratic norms,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

In a tweet, Kharge said, “Gandhi’s convoy in Manipur has been stopped by police near Bishnupur. He is going there to meet the people suffering in relief camps and to provide a healing touch in the strife-torn state. 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,” he added.

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Shri @RahulGandhi’s convoy in Manipur has been stopped by the police near Bishnupur.

He is going there to meet the people suffering in relief camps and to provide a healing touch in the strife-torn state.

PM Modi has not bothered to break his silence on Manipur. He has left…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) June 29, 2023

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is “most unfortunate” that the Modi government is preventing the Gandhi scion from visiting the relief camps and interacting with people outside Imphal.

“His 2-day visit to Manipur is in the spirit of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The prime minister may choose to remain silent or be inactive, but why stop Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to listen to all sections of the Manipuri society and provide a healing touch,” he asked.

Earlier, Rahul took a helicopter to visit Churachandpur, after being stuck at Bishnupur for hours as his convoy was stopped by the police, sources told PTI.

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At Churachandpur, he visited people displaced by the ethnic strife. Rahul went to a relief camp and interacted with the inmates.

“Rahul Gandhi took a state government-provided chopper to visit Churachandpur. Top police and administration officials accompanied him in the helicopter,” said a source at the airport.

Tear gas was used at Bishnupur by the local police on demonstrators – some of whom wanted him to proceed to Churanchandpur, while others opposed his visit.

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Rahul’s supporters, including a large number of women, hit the streets at Bishnupur demanding that he be allowed to go to Churachandpur. One of the women said, “If (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah could go to Churachandpur, why not Rahul Gandhi?”

After returning to Imphal airport from Bishnupur, Rahul boarded the helicopter to Churachandpur. The sources at the airport confirmed that the Congress leader was accompanied by key officials during this aerial journey.

During the incident in Bishnupur, tear gas was deployed by local police to disperse demonstrators. The protesters were divided, with some urging Rahul to continue his visit to Churachandpur, while others opposed his presence in the area.

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Rahul’s intended purpose for traveling to Churachandpur was to visit the relief camps in the region, which have been established to aid those affected by the ongoing ethnic strife in the northeastern state. He had to stop at Bishnupur after police halted his convoy fearing attacks on it.

Nearly 120 people have died and more than 3,000 injured in the ethnic violence in Manipur since May 3. Clashes first broke out on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

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(With agency inputs)