Upon his arrival at Silchar airport in Assam, Rahul Gandhi was warmly welcomed by Congress leaders from both Assam and Manipur. Subsequently, he proceeded to Fulertal where he engaged with flood-affected individuals residing in relief camps. Rahul Gandhi’s trip to Assam coincided with the state’s struggle against severe floods caused by continuous heavy rainfall, resulting in landslides and rivers overflowing.
Approximately 22.70 lakh individuals across 28 districts were impacted by the inundation, with a total of 78 casualties reported due to this year’s floods, landslides, and storms in the state. The relief camps housing flood-affected residents in Cachar were situated along the path taken by Rahul Gandhi en route to Jiribam in Manipur. Upon reaching Jiribam, he conversed with individuals residing in a relief camp established within a school, aiming to understand their circumstances following displacement due to ethnic violence.
Rahul Gandhi arrived at Silchar airport in Assam from Jiribam, then proceeded to Imphal for the next phase of his Manipur tour. Following that, he visited Churachandpur, a region impacted by ethnic violence, where he engaged with the local residents.
Since May 3 of the previous year, Manipur has been experiencing conflicts between the Meitei and Kuki communities, resulting in over 200 casualties from the clashes.
CONGRESS VS BJP OVER RAHUL GANDHI’S VISITS
A verbal dispute erupted between the Congress and BJP regarding Rahul Gandhi’s visits to Manipur and Assam. Jairam Ramesh, a Congress leader, criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for planning a visit to Russia instead of addressing the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
“Today, the appointed PM is traveling to Moscow while the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is heading to Assam and Manipur. Supporters of the appointed PM have asserted that he played a role in pausing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It is likely that this visit to Moscow will result in further outlandish assertions,” he posted on Twitter.
Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Manipur marks his third trip to the state since the unrest began over a year ago. The Prime Minister, who is not biologically related to the current PM, has failed to make time to visit Manipur even briefly since the crisis began on May 3, 2023. Additionally, he has not engaged with the Chief Minister or other political figures from the state, despite them being members of his own party, as stated by Rahul Gandhi.
Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell chief, responded to Ramesh’s comments by accusing Rahul Gandhi of engaging in what he called “sick tragedy tourism”. Malviya went on to claim that the ongoing violence in Manipur is a result of the Congress party’s past actions.
According to Malviya, “The ethnic conflict in Manipur is a direct result of the Congress party’s governance. For decades, the state has experienced violence resulting in the deaths of civilians, police officers, and military personnel, all while the Congress was in power.”
Rahul Gandhi’s third failure should not be the focus. Instead, we should ask whether any Congress leader, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was a member of Rajya Sabha from Assam, visited the troubled region. The individual in question is simply engaging in insensitive tragedy tourism, behaving like a grown man with a child’s mind.