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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday visited a relief camp in Churachandpur in violence-hit Manipur, hours after his convoy was stopped by police officials citing possibility of a grenade attack on the route. Gandhi, who was on his way when he was stopped by Manipur Police about 20 kilometres from Imphal near Bishnupur, took a helicopter to Churachandpur.
A source at the airport from where Gandhi took the helicopter, told PTI, “Rahul Gandhi took a state government-provided chopper to visit Churachandpur. Top police and administration officials accompanied him in the helicopter.”
A video shared by news agency PTI, showed Gandhi siting on a table and sharing lunch with children of the relief camp, which was set up at a school in Churachandpur. Another video, showed Gandhi outside the relief camp interacting with people and listened to their ordeal.
As reported by PTI, Gandhi also spoke to members of Civil Society Organisation.
Sharing a video on Twitter of various moments from violence in the state, which has continued since May 3, Gandhi wrote, “I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur. People of all communities are being very welcoming and loving. It’s very unfortunate that the government is stopping me. Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority.”
Police resorted to using tear gas as Gandhi’s supporters took to streets in Bishnupur, urging that he be allowed to go ahead to Churachandpur when his convoy was stopped.
At least 115 people have died and nearly 40,000 displaced in the ethnic clashes which first erupted on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed court-ordered tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the majority Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders.
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