Saturday, 13 September 2025
Saturday, 13 September 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi set foot in Manipur on Saturday for the first time since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023.
Urging various outfits to shun violence, PM Modi said, "For development to take root anywhere, peace is essential. In the last 11 years, many conflicts and disputes in the Northeast have been resolved. People have chosen the path of peace and given priority to development."
His tightly packed visit lasted less than five hours and drew sharp criticism from the Opposition and protests on the streets, even as he assured the strife-torn state that peace and reconciliation were within reach.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: "The people of Manipur have been undergoing tremendous pain, distress, suffering, and agony for the past 28 months ever the since the state erupted. The people of Manipur have waited patiently for the PM to visit the state. He has finally obliged them today. But he was in the state, from landing till take-off, for less than 5 hours."
"The PM has the time (and the inclination) to spend days campaigning and traveling across the world. But is Manipur worth only so much to him? It is shockingly insensitive," he added.
The Prime Minister, however, struck a note of optimism. Addressing a gathering in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur, he said: "A short while ago, I met the affected people at a relief camp. After meeting them, I can say with confidence that a new dawn of hope and trust is rising in Manipur."
He called the state the “land of hope and aspiration”, adding that “unfortunately, violence had cast its shadow on this beautiful region.”
In Imphal’s Kangla Fort, Modi told displaced families that the Centre stood firmly with them.
"Manipur is the 'ratna' adorning the crown of 'mother India'. Any form of violence here is condemnable. It is not only unfortunate but also a grave injustice to our ancestors and our future generations. Together, we must take Manipur forward on the path of peace and development," he said.
Outside, protesters from the youth wings of the Congress and Manipur Peoples’ Party (MPP) held placards and shouted slogans, dismissing the PM’s visit as a “political ploy” and insisting it was “not aimed at restoration of peace and normalcy.”
The PM’s day began in Aizawl, where he inaugurated the Rs 8,070-crore Bairabi-Sairang railway line and launched projects worth Rs 9,000 crore from the airport itself due to heavy rains.
Later, bad weather forced him to abandon plans of flying directly to Churachandpur. Instead, he landed in Imphal and took the road to the Kuki stronghold.
PM Modi also used the stage to send a message across the border. At a rally in Imphal, he congratulated Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, calling her appointment “a shining example of women empowerment” and stressing the deep cultural and historical bonds between the two countries.
