Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have cut down his ceaseless public meetings in election-bound states by one to visit strife-torn Manipur, which has been burning for the past five months.
“Ek meeting kam kar sakte the,” Kharge said, asserting that the Prime Minister was obliged to solve the crisis in Manipur.
Modi has been frantically touring poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana to explain to voters the bonanza that the “double-engine” BJP governments bestow upon them.
Modi might have addressed over a dozen public rallies in these states where the election dates have not even been announced, and his tours will multiply over the next two months as he acts like the BJP’s main campaigner despite being the Prime Minister.
Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 but he hasn’t found time to visit the state. He has gone abroad since, visiting the US, Australia, Egypt, Japan, France, South Africa, Greece, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Papua New Guinea.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday shot several questions, exposing the Prime Minister’s apathy towards Manipur. “When was the last time the Prime Minister visited Manipur? When was the last time the Prime Minister spoke to the BJP chief minister of Manipur? When was the last time the Prime Minister met BJP MLAs of Manipur? When was the last time the Prime Minister discussed Manipur with his cabinet colleague from the state?”
Ramesh added: “Never before has a Prime Minister completely abandoned a state and its entire people like now. That Manipur has come to this horrendous situation just about 15 months after the BJP got a huge mandate in the state is a most damning indictment of its policies and the Prime Minister’s priorities.”
The Congress has often described Modi as “Prachar Minister” and an electioneering machine, pointing out that no Prime Minister campaigned like this in states. Prime Ministers in the past barely held two or three meetings in state elections but Modi leads the party campaign in every state. He outdid himself in the Bengal election in 2021, and went to every nook and corner of Karnataka too earlier this year.
While the Prime Minister has countless responsibilities, primarily finding solutions to burning issues, Modi has kept electioneering on top of his agenda in addition to attending programmes like Rozgar Mela to distribute appointment letters to new recruits and even those who get promotions, inaugurating trains and railway stations in different parts of the country, and addressing meetings on all kinds of subjects.
Ramesh recalled the turn of events in a detailed statement: “Five months back, on the evening of May 3, Manipur erupted because of the divisive politics of the so-called double-engine sarkar there. After almost a month, after being relieved from Karnataka election duties and other such urgent matters, the home minister deemed it fit to visit the state. But there has been no marked improvement. In fact things have turned from bad to worse. Social harmony has broken down completely.”
He added: “Horrific details of violent crimes emerge every other day. Tens of thousands continue to languish in relief camps. Clashes between the armed forces and the state police are routine. Yet the Prime Minister has been completely silent except for a much belated, routine and ritualistic comment for less than 5 minutes in a 133-minute speech in the Lok Sabha on August 10. The chief minister continues to brazen it out despite the majority of BJP MLAs wanting him out of office.”
