Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre's first outreach across the political spectrum on clashes in Manipur, questioning PM Modi's “silence” on the issue. He added that the meeting has been called at a time when the PM is “not in the country” since it is “not important” for him. PM Modi is on an official state visit to the United States till June 24.
“Manipur has been burning since 50 days, but the Prime Minister remained silent. An all-party meeting was called when the Prime Minister himself is not in the country! Clearly, this meeting is not important for the Prime Minister,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, union home minister Amit Shah called an all-party meeting on June 24 to discuss the situation in violence-hit Manipur. "Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah has convened an all party meeting on 24th June at 3 PM in New Delhi to discuss the situation in Manipur," a home ministry spokesperson tweeted.
Shah visited the violence-hit state last month and held several rounds of meetings with representatives of both the Meitei and Kuki communities in a bid to end the violence. However, there was no significant improvement in the law and order situation in the state.
Manipur violence
Violence first broke out in the northeastern state on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Since then, over 100 people have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced.
