After Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday apologised for the ethnic conflict in the state, the Congress asked why can't Prime Minister Narendra Modi go there and do the same even though he travels across the country and the world.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the people of Manipur cannot understand their neglect by the prime minister, whom he accused of deliberately avoiding a visit to Manipur.

"Why can't the Prime Minister go to Manipur and say the same thing there? He has deliberately avoided visiting the state since May 4, 2023, even as he jets around the country and the world," Ramesh said in his post.

"The people of Manipur simply cannot understand this neglect," he said.

His comments came hours after Biren Singh apologised for the ethnic conflict in Manipur, which claimed over 250 lives and rendered thousands homeless since May 2023, appealing to all communities to forget and forgive past mistakes and live together in a "peaceful" and "prosperous" state.

"I want to say sorry for what happened in the state. Many people lost their loved ones and many had to leave their homes. I regret and want to apologise. But after seeing relative peace in the last three-four months, I hope that normalcy will be restored in the coming year.

"Whatever happened has happened... I want to appeal to all communities to forgive and forget our past mistakes and start life afresh by living together in a peaceful and prosperous Manipur," Singh said in Imphal.

The chief minister also claimed that firing incidents have declined in the state over the past 20 months since the ethnic conflict broke out in May 2023.

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