The Congress party has faced sharp criticism from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who accused them of being insensitive and opportunistic about the violence in Manipur. He said the Congress party did not show any concern when Manipur was in a state of turmoil, but now they are making noise when the situation is improving.
He claimed that peace and normalcy are gradually returning to Manipur, and that the Congress party’s visit to the state was a mere publicity stunt. He also questioned the motive and outcome of Rahul Gandhi’s two-day trip to Manipur, where he met with the victims of the ethnic clashes.
He said, “The Congress party is shedding crocodile tears for Manipur when there is relative calm in the state. They should have expressed their sympathy when Manipur was facing a volatile situation. They neither visited Manipur nor spoke about it then. Now, Manipur is almost recovering from the crisis and they are raising their voice.”
He added, “I can assure you that there is a lot of progress in Manipur’s situation compared to what it was a month ago…The situation is fast becoming normal.”
Himanta Sarma’s comments came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded his two-day visit to the state, which has witnessed violence and displacement since early May due to a conflict between Kukis and Meiteis over the latter’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Earlier, he had dismissed Gandhi’s visit as a media gimmick and said that no one should try to exploit the state’s “tragic” situation for political gain.
He said, “He (Gandhi) is visiting Manipur for just a day. It is nothing but media hype. It would have been different if there were positive results from his visit, but there will be no outcome from such a visit.”
According to reports, around 100 people have lost their lives and more than 40,000 have been displaced due to the ethnic clashes in Manipur.
