He encouraged communities to engage in conversation for long-lasting unity and made an appeal to the people of Manipur to uphold the peace. Congressman Rahul Gandhi uploaded a video of a recent visit to the violent northeastern state on Wednesday amid continued ethnic unrest in Manipur. He shared the video and claimed that, during his two-day tour, he had a painful experience. He continued by saying that “violence has left behind a trail of tragic consequences” in the state.
He urged the people of Manipur to keep the peace and encouraged communities to hold conversations in order to achieve long-term unity. For the past two months, he claimed, Manipur has been on fire. “Manipur needs Peace. My strong appeal to the people of Manipur is that peace is the only way forward. It is now time that conversations for peace happen between all communities and lasting solutions for harmony are discussed,” he stated. He added, “Nafrat Chhodo, Manipur Jodo!”
During his two-day tour to the state, Rahul Gandhi experienced high drama when the police stopped his convoy as he was en route to a camp for victims. He then flew there on a helicopter. As soon as his visit was over, he said, “Manipur needs peace. I want peace to be restored here. I visited some relief camps, there are deficiencies in these relief camps, the government should work on this.” On the first day of his visit, the Congressman went on a tour of the relief camps in Churchandpur, one of the areas that has been most badly hit by racial conflict.
Churchandpur is the district where the first indication of racial conflict was the setting on fire of Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s event site in April. According to party officials, the following day he went to two relief camps in Moirang, Manipur’s Bishnupur district. Gandhi spoke with several affected individuals and heard about their situation. Both of the facilities Gandhi visited reportedly provide housing for around 1,000 individuals.
He also spoke with youngsters who had been displaced by the conflict in Manipur. Since the outbreak of racial conflict between the Meitei and Kuki groups in May, more than 100 people have died and nearly 40,000 have been displaced. He spoke with members of Manipur civil society organisations during his tour and listened to their issues. The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (CoCoMI), a civil society organisation, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, and well-known individuals like JNU professor Bimol A were among the numerous organisations and individuals he met. The United Naga Council, the leading body of the Naga community in Manipur, was another.
