Manipur Gears Up for Frist PM Modi Visit As May 2023 Ethnic Clashes
Imphal – Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Manipur today, September 13, marking his first trip to the state since ethnic violence erupted between the kuki and Meitei communities in May 2023, claiming over 260 lives and displacing thousands. the visit is anticipated to “pave the way for peace, normalcy, growth in state,” according to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Rajeev Goel.
During his visit, PM modi will inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang railway line project in neighboring Mizoram and unveil development projects totaling over ₹8,000 crore in Manipur. In Churachandpur,a kuki-majority area,he will lay the foundation stones for projects worth ₹7,300 crore. In Imphal, the Meitei-majority capital, he will inaugurate infrastructure projects valued at ₹1,200 crore.
The Manipur government has issued strict security advisories for those attending the “VVIP program” at Peace Ground in Churachandpur, prohibiting items such as keys, pens, water bottles, bags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, lighters, matchboxes, cloth pieces, sharp objects, and weapons. Attendees are also requested to refrain from bringing children under 12 or unwell persons. air guns have already been banned in Churachandpur district. Security has been heightened across both Imphal and Churachandpur.
The visit follows repeated criticism from opposition parties regarding the Prime Minister’s absence from the state during the ongoing crisis.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi welcomed the visit, stating, “The issue in Manipur has been ongoing for a long time. It is good that he is going there now.” However, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh criticized the planned duration of the visit, calling a projected three-hour stay “an insult to the people of the state who have waited for him for 29 long and agonising months.”