Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Russia amid the Russian war on Ukraine and condoled the loss of lives, has met with a counter question from a Meetei group, who asked why his heart did not bleed for those killed in the ongoing riot in Manipur.
The Delhi Meetei Coordinating Committee (DMCC) has urged PM Modi to explain why his heart bleeds only for the lives lost in the Ukraine war, and not for the lives lost in Manipur.
In a statement issued on July 11, DMCC expressed concern over what it described as Modi’s “apparent neglect” of the severe domestic crisis in Manipur. The committee acknowledged the Prime Minister’s efforts to promote peace on the international stage but highlighted his lack of engagement with pressing issues at home.
The statement emphasized that Modi has not yet visited Manipur, which is approximately 2,411 kilometres from Delhi, a journey of just 2 hours and 50 minutes by flight. “Modi’s heart bleeds when innocent kids die in the war between Russia and Ukraine but has no heart to bleed for the hundreds of innocent lives lost, including kids, in Manipur. His own citizens have been ignored,” the DMCC stated.
The DMCC further criticized the Government of India (GOI) for its perceived failure to address the violence in Manipur, accusing it of ignoring and marginalizing the region. The committee asserted that residents of Manipur feel abandoned and believe the central government is prioritizing national security interests over the safety and well-being of its people.
Citing data from Modi’s official website, the DMCC pointed out that the Prime Minister travelled to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat the most in 2017, with 21 visits each. In contrast, he has made only one visit to Sikkim, Mizoram, and Pondicherry, and just two visits to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland in the past four years.
Between 2014 and 2018, Modi visited Uttar Pradesh 49 times for both official and unofficial trips and his home state, Gujarat, 33 times.
“However, he has failed to visit the violence-stricken state of Manipur, where hundreds of innocent lives have been lost on both sides of the conflict,” the statement concluded.