The Congress on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur, calling it a “token” trip and an “insult” to people still suffering from ethnic violence in the state.
Party president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Modi of using the visit for showmanship rather than compassion. “Narendra Modi ji, your 3-hour pit stop in Manipur is not compassion — it’s farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to wounded people. Your so-called roadshow in Imphal and Churachandpur today is nothing but a cowardly escape from hearing the cries of people in relief camps,” Kharge posted on X.
He noted that the violence had lasted for 864 days, leaving 300 dead, 67,000 displaced and over 1,500 injured, yet Modi had not visited until now. “You made 46 foreign trips since, but not a single visit to share two words of sympathy with your own citizens,” he said.
Kharge added that Modi’s last visit to Manipur was in January 2022 during elections and accused both the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah of failing to prevent the crisis. “This hush-hush pit stop isn’t repentance. It is a cruel prick to the wounds of those still suffering because of your abdication of constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra echoed the criticism, saying the Prime Minister should have visited much earlier. “It is very unfortunate that he allowed what is happening there to continue for so long and for so many people to be killed. That has not been the tradition of prime ministers in India,” she told reporters in Wayanad.
K C Venugopal, another Congress general secretary, called the visit a “belated, face-saving farce.” He wrote on X, “Manipur has been burning since 2023, and he found time to pay a visit today — after two and a half years. This visit too is a half-hearted measure, with him spending barely a few hours there, and is clubbed with a visit to Mizoram.”
Venugopal accused the Modi government of lacking both a solution and the courage to bring warring groups together. “Instead, he is treating this like any other PR event. Such a tone-deaf, insensitive and self-aggrandising stunt will be nothing but a mockery of the people of Manipur,” he said.
Modi reached Manipur on Saturday afternoon on his first visit since violence broke out in May 2023. During his three-hour stay, he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for projects worth ₹8,500 crore.
