Rahul Gandhi to visit violence-hit Manipur on June 29, 30

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit violence-hit Manipur on June 29 and 30, the party announced Wednesday.

He will visit the relief camps and interact with civil society representatives in Imphal and Churachandpur during his visit, according to Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal.

“Manipur has been burning for nearly two months and desperately needs a healing touch so that the society can move from conflict to peace. This is a humanitarian tragedy and it is our responsibility to be a force of love, not hate,” Venugopal wrote on Twitter, announcing Gandhi’s Manipur visit.

This is the first visit of Gandhi to Manipur which has been hit with ethnic violence since early May.

The northeastern state has been burning due to unprecedented violence in recent times since May 3 due to the clashes between the plain-dwelling Meitei community and the Kuki tribe, preponderant in the hill districts.

The violence so far has claimed more than 110 lives, and also resulted in the displacement of several thousands. Gandhi has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the situation in Manipur.

“An all-party meeting is called when the Prime Minister is not in the country. It is clear..this meeting is not important for the Prime Minister,” Gandhi had tweeted recently.

The all-party meeting on June 24 was chaired by Union home minister, Amit Shah, with Prime Minister’s absence conspicuous.

Gandhi’s party had said it only showed Modi’s “cowardice and unwillingness to confront his failures”, and the BJP government’s “lack of seriousness” on the subject.

The situation in Manipur continues to be grim, with violence reported from various parts of the state.

Several legislators from the state, including those from the BJP, have been demanding the resignation of chief minister N. Biren Singh, accusing him of incompetence and acting in a partisan manner.