Guwahati, July 8: Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited relief camps in Manipur’s Jiribam and Churachandpur districts and interacted with the inmates – people displaced by ethnic violence in the state.
Addressing a media conference in Imphal later, Gandhi expressed concern over “lack of improvement in the situation in the violence-hit state.”, saying, “It’s the third time I have come here since the problem started and it has been a tremendous tragedy. I was expecting some improvement in the situation but I am disappointed to see that the situation is still nowhere near what it should be. I visited the camps and heard the people there, heard their pain.”
Over 200 lives have been lost in the violence since May 3 last year.
Underlining that peace was the need of the hour, the Congress leader said, “Violence is hurting everyone in Manipur. Thousands of families have been harmed, properties have been destroyed, family members have been killed. The state is completely split in two and it is a tragedy for everybody involved.”
He further assured the people of the state that the Congress party would do “whatever it could to restore peace to the state.”
“I want to tell all the people of Manipur, I come here as your brother, I come here as somebody who wants to help you, who wants to work with you to bring back peace in Manipur,” Gandhi said.
“We had a conversation with the Governor and expressed that we would like to help in whatever way we can…we also expressed our displeasure and said that we are not happy with the progress that we see here. I don’t want to further politicise the issue…that is not my intention,” he added.