Rahul Gandhi's Manipur Visit Coincides With PM Modi's Russia Trip, Highlighting Internal Strife; VIDEO

Rahul Gandhi’s Manipur visit is timed precisely to overlap with PM’s visit to Russia and that certainly is no coincidence. The idea is to illustrate by contrast how the PM is busy with his foreign tours while his own people are left to suffer the consequences of a huge internal strife. And to thereby drive home a message that Rahul is the true messiah of the people who is making his third visit to the state.

Manipur has been the central theme of the opposition in the last session of parliament when opposition members persistently disrupted PM’s speech with justice for Manipur slogans. And it’s an issue that the opposition has legitimately cornered the government with, throughout the election campaign and also now with sporadic incidents of violence the state has remained in the centre of political discourse largely because of the Congress party that has remain unrelenting on the issue.

The latest faceoff has been over PM saying that peace has returned to Manipur and situation is under control. This statement has been targeted by opposition members to highlight how far-removed Delhi is from Imphal with the Manipur MP from the valley region also making it clear in his parliament address that situation is far from normal.

It takes the smallest of triggers to inflame passions and therefore the state continues to be volatile. Any semblance of peace is only momentary. Even places like Jiribam that Rahul Gandhi has chosen to visit is now scarred with violence after holding peace for over a decade. The congress party is also obliged to the state for electing both Congress MPs from the state.

The party has won the seat in the valley dominated by the Meitei population as well as the one in hill districts, which in a way makes it clear that the vote is against the BJP, ruling party in the state and centre. In that sense there can be no denial that people of the state disapprove of the current govt and its handling of the Manipur situation.