Rahul Gandhi to visit Manipur on July 8: Sources

New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Manipur on July 8, party sources said.

The state of Manipur has been witnessing ethnic strife since May 2023.

According to Congress sources, Rahul Gandhi will visit relief camps and also meet Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee leaders.

The Opposition has been attacking the Centre over the ethnic violence in Manipur, which has been going for over a year.

The vilonce erupted in the northeastern state on May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address in the Rajya Sabha last week, reaffirmed that the central government is making efforts to normalise the situation in Manipur.

“The government is continuously making efforts to normalise the situation in Manipur. More than 11,000 FIRs have been registered and over 500 people have been arrested. Incidents of violence are continuously reducing in Manipur,” PM Modi said.

He further said that the central and state governments are establishing interactions with all stakeholders to restore peace.

“Today, schools, colleges, offices and other institutions are open in the state. The central and state governments are talking to all stakeholders to restore peace,” the Prime Minister added.

Earlier in June, Union Home Minister Amit Shah did a holistic review of the security situation in Manipur in a high-level meeting here in the national capital and directed to ensure that “no further incident of violence takes place” in the northeastern state.

In the one-hour-long meeting at his North Block office, the Home Minister stressed the strategic deployment of the central forces to restore peace and tranquility in Manipur.

Meanwhile, in the recent Lok Sabha polls, Congress party won both seats in the violence hit state.

Angomcha Bimol Akoijam and Alfred K Arthur of Congress took oath as MPs in the recently concluded Parliament Session.