Wayanad/Imphal: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur sooner, holding him responsible for “allowing” the ongoing violence in the state. She expressed her concerns while speaking to reporters in Kerala’s Wayanad, where she represents a parliamentary constituency.

Priyanka Gandhi’s remarks

Priyanka Gandhi said, “I am glad that he has decided after 2 years that it’s worth his visiting. He should have visited much long before. It’s very unfortunate that he has allowed what is happening there to happen for so long, so many people to get killed and so many people to go through so much strife before he has decided to visit.”

She further added that it has traditionally been the practice of Prime Ministers to visit areas affected by suffering, and noted that PM Modi is only now “fulfilling” that tradition two years after the violence began. “That has not been the tradition of Prime Ministers in India. Right through, no matter which party they were, wherever there was pain, wherever there was suffering, they would go. That has been the tradition since independence. So, he is fulfilling it after 2 years; I think he should have thought of it before,” she said.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the visit as a “pitstop” and “farce,” calling the roadshows in Imphal and Churachandpur a token gesture. “Your 3-hour PIT STOP in Manipur is not compassion—it is a farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to a wounded people. Your so-called ROADSHOW in Imphal and Churachandpur today is nothing but a cowardly escape from hearing the cries of people in relief camps!” Kharge wrote on X.

PM Modi’s visit and development projects

Meanwhile, Imphal has been decked up for PM Modi’s visit, with elaborate security arrangements and extensive deployment of police and security personnel across the city.

During his visit, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at Churachandpur, including:

  • Manipur Urban Roads, drainage and asset management project worth Rs 3,600 crore
  • Five National Highway projects worth more than Rs 2,500 crore
  • Manipur Infotech Development (MIND) project
  • Working women’s hostels at nine locations

Later in the day, PM Modi will inaugurate development projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore in Imphal and address a public gathering.

Conclusion

The visit comes amid criticism from opposition leaders over the delayed engagement of the Prime Minister with the state, highlighting the ongoing political debate about governance, development, and attention to local crises in Manipur.