Gaurav Gogoi slams PM Modi's Manipur visit: 'Just for image, rubbing salt on wounds'

Modi visited Manipur on Saturday, first since ethnic conflict began in May 2023. Modi interacted with displaced Kuki and Meitei families

Narendra Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Assam Congress leader and MP Gaurav Gogoi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Manipur and charged the only motive of the trip was to improve the prime minister's image.

Slamming Modi's visit, Gogoi called the prime minister's visit "unfortunate". "He just goes there to improve his image rather than solve people's problems," Gogoi charged. Gogoi likened Modi's visit to the strife-torn Manipur to rubbing salt on wounds. "The way he only focuses on his image, he rubs salt on the wounds of people instead of applying ointment," lashed out Gogoi.

Modi made his first visit to Manipur on Saturday, the prime minister's first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state. During his visit, he interacted with a section of the displaced people belonging to the two warring communities, Kuki and Meitei.

The prime minister listened to the concerns of displaced families at the historic Kangla Fort complex in Imphal and Peace Ground in Churachandpur, and assured them of the Centre's commitment to restore peace and normalcy in the state.

"A short while ago, I met the affected people at a relief camp. After meeting them, I can say with confidence that a new dawn of hope and trust is rising in Manipur," Modi said in Churachandpur on Saturday.

Ethnic violence broke out between the tribal communities in May 2023. More than 60,000 people, nearly 40,000 from the Kuki Zo community and around 20,000 Meiteis, have been displaced due to the ethnic violence. While many of the displaced people have moved outside the state, the majority of them have been living in relief camps in poor living conditions with no privacy and no sources of income.

Over 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless after ethnic violence broke out in the state in May 2023. 

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