The Congress leader and LOP in Lok Sabha visited relief camps where members of both Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities are taking shelter. He said “I come here as your brother. I come here as somebody who wants to help you, somebody who wants to work with you to bring peace back to Manipur.”
“The Indian government and everyone who considers himself a patriot,” he said, “must reach out and embrace the people of Manipur and bring peace to Manipur.”
Speaking to the media, he also said he had a message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi: “I feel it is important that the Prime Minister come here. Listen to the people of Manipur. Try and understand what is happening in Manipur. After all, Manipur is a proud state of the Indian Union… Even if there was no tragedy, the Prime Minister should have come to Manipur. And in this huge tragedy, I request the PM to take one day, two days of his time and just listen to the people of Manipur. It will comfort the people of Manipur.”
The one-day visit on Monday was Rahul’s third to Manipur since the outbreak of violence in the state in May 2023. He had first visited in June 2023, and next in January this year, beginning his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the state. His visit also comes after both Lok Sabha seats in the state, earlier represented by NDA MPs, were won by the Congress.
“It’s the third time I’ve come here since the problem started and it has been a tremendous tragedy. Frankly, I was expecting some improvement in the situation, but I was quite disappointed to see that the situation is still nowhere near what it should be. I visited the camps and heard the people there, heard their pain. I came here to listen to them, to build confidence, and as somebody who is in the opposition, to try and apply pressure on the government so that it acts,” he said in Imphal in the evening.
Addressing reporters in Imphal after visiting the relief centers, Rahul said, “Here, the need of the hour is peace. Violence is hurting everybody. Thousands of families have been harmed, property has been destroyed. Family members have been killed. And I have never seen anywhere in India what is going on here. The state is completely split in two. And it is a tragedy for everybody involved. I want to tell all the people of Manipur, I come here as your brother. I come here as somebody who wants to help you, somebody who wants to work with you to bring back peace in Manipur. And I am ready to do whatever I can, the Congress party is ready to do whatever it can to bring back peace here.”
Rahul Gandhi also received memoranda from civil society groups representing both Meitei and Kuki-Zo interests. In its memorandum to Rahul, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum – a Kuki-Zo group based in Churachandpur – pushed their demand for a separate administration. COCOMI – a Meitei civil society group – requested him to urge the central government to give budgetary support to compensate for losses and to “contain the armed terrorists”.