New Delhi [India], September 13 (ANI): CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur but said it was delayed, stressing that the Opposition had long urged the Prime Minister to lead an all-party delegation to the state.
Speaking to ANI, Brittas said, “We, the Opposition parties, have always been saying, ‘Let the PM lead a delegation of all the parties to Manipur so that we can bring back that state into peace and tranquillity. For the last two years, he was not heeding us. Even the request for a full-fledged discussion on the Floor of the Parliament was discarded. At least he is going to Manipur. But it is too late. Nevertheless, we support the initiative. We feel that he will hold all the organisations and everybody together, and make sure that trust and confidence are built.”
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also reacted to the visit, saying, “It’s a good thing that there has been a lot of commentary on PM Modi avoiding travelling to that part of our country. Better late than never.”
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the Prime Minister for not visiting Manipur earlier, holding him responsible for “allowing” the violence in the state to continue. “I am glad that he has decided after two years that it’s worth his visiting. He should have visited much long before. It’s very unfortunate that he has allowed what is happening there to happen for so long, so many people to get killed and so many people to go through so much strife before he has decided to visit,” she told reporters in Kerala’s Wayanad.
The Congress leader added that it has traditionally been the practice of Prime Ministers to visit areas affected by suffering and said PM Modi is only “fulfilling” that tradition two years after the violence began. “That has not been the tradition of Prime Ministers in India. Right through, no matter which party they were, wherever there was pain, wherever there was suffering, they would go. That has been the tradition since independence. So, he is fulfilling it after two years, I think he should have thought of it before,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also criticised the Prime Minister, describing his upcoming visit as a “pitstop” and a “farce.” In a post on X, Kharge wrote, “Your 3-hour PIT STOP in Manipur is not compassion — it is a farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to a 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!”
Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been made in Manipur’s Imphal ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, with the city being decked up to welcome him. Visuals from across the state capital showed extensive deployment of police and security personnel.
In Manipur, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at Churachandpur at 12:30 pm. These include the Manipur Urban Roads, Drainage and Asset Management Project worth Rs 3,600 crore; five National Highway projects worth more than Rs 2,500 crore; the Manipur Infotech Development (MIND) project; and working women’s hostels at nine locations.
Later in the day, PM Modi will inaugurate development projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore in Imphal and address a public gathering. (ANI)
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