‘Congress, INDIA bloc will raise Manipur issue with full force in Parl’

I have visited Manipur three times since violence broke out there, but unfortunately there is no improvement in the situation -- even today the State is divided into two parts. Houses are burning, innocent lives are in danger and thousands of families are forced to live in relief camps - Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: The Congress and the INDIA bloc will raise the need for peace in Manipur with full force in Parliament to put pressure on the government to end this tragedy, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday, days after his visit to the violence-hit State.

He also reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should personally visit Manipur, listen to the problems of the people of the state and appeal for peace. Gandhi made the remarks in a post in Hindi on X as he shared a video of his interactions with the people of Manipur during his day-long visit to the violence-hit State on Monday.

“I have visited Manipur three times since violence broke out there, but unfortunately there is no improvement in the situation -- even today the State is divided into two parts. Houses are burning, innocent lives are in danger and thousands of families are forced to live in relief camps,” the former Congress chief said. The prime minister should personally visit Manipur, listen to the problems of the people of the state and appeal for peace, Gandhi said.

“The Congress party and INDIA will raise the need for peace in Manipur with full force in Parliament to put pressure on the government to end this tragedy,” the Congress leader said. During his day-long visit to Manipur, Gandhi had visited three relief camps in different districts of the BJP-ruled state and interacted with people belonging to both the warring ethnic groups -- Meiteis and Kukis -- who were displaced by the violence.

Gandhi had also visited Manipur weeks after ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 last year. He also began his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ from the state in January 2024. In the video, Gandhi is seen interacting with people at various relief camps. The people narrate to him their plight and fears and urge him to fight for them and raise their voice.

Gandhi is seen in the video telling the people that the Congress and its MPs had raised the problems the people of Manipur were facing in the Parliament session that has just gone by and promised to raise the issues again in the upcoming session. “We can put pressure (on the government) and we will put pressure on them,” he says to the people. “I can help you, I can raise the issue and put pressure but I can’t reassure you when you will be able to go back to your homes because the government has the answer to this. You will see in the next session, I will raise your voice,” Gandhi tells the people at a relief camp in Manipur.

Parliament’s Budget Session will be held between July 22 and August 12. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on July 23. Manipur plunged into violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May last year. Since then, some 200 people have been killed while thousands have been displaced following large-scale arson that gutted homes and government buildings.