Rahul Gandhi Manipur Visit Live Updates: ‘Need of the hour is peace’, says Congress MP as he ends Manipur visit

Terming the situation in Manipur as a "tremendous tragedy", Rahul Gandhi said he was expecting some improvement in the state as it is his third visit since the conflict began.

"...but I was 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. I came here to listen to them, to build confidence in them and as somebody who is in the opposition, to try and apply pressure on the govt so that it acts. Here, the need of the hour is peace. Violence is hurting everybody. Thousands of families have been harmed, properties have been destroyed, family members have been killed and I have never seen anywhere in India what is going on here. The State is completely split in two and it is a tragedy for everybody involved. 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..." he said.

Addressing a press conference, Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi needs to come to Manipur to give solace to violence-affected people.

After visiting the relief camps, Rahul Gandhi called on Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey at the Raj Bhavan in the evening.

Details of the around 45-minute-long minute are not immediately available.

#WATCH | Congress MP and LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi meets people at a relief camp at Moirang in Manipur's Bishnupur pic.twitter.com/zamlux8UNM

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2024

LoP Lok in the Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has arrived at Moirang in Manipur's Bishnupur district, where he will visit another relief camp. 

During his visit to Manipur so far, Gandhi has met violence-affected people in relief camps in three places – Jiribam and Churachandpur districts. He is also set to visit Moirang (Bishnupur district) and scheduled to meet Governor Anusuiya Uikey to discuss the crisis.

According to an AICC leader, the "Congress has repeatedly spoken about PM Modi not visiting Manipur since May last year. Now it is time for us to walk the talk, and hence, Rahul Gandhi has decided to go there for the third time since May last year".

"The message is clear – that our leader will do what the PM won’t,” said the leader.

The leader claimed this would also send a message to the people that “while PM Modi is visiting foreign countries, our leader is standing with the people of a state which has been neglected despite being in turmoil for so long”.

PM Modi is going to visit Russia on July 8-9, followed by Austria on July 9-10.

Rahul Gandhi has begun interacting with people displaced by ethnic violence at a relief camp in Churachandpur, Manipur, news agency PTI reported

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VIDEO | Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) visits a relief camp in Manipur’s Churachandpur district. pic.twitter.com/VGhKDSRXLR

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2024

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at Imphal airport from Silchar after visiting relief camps in Jiribam district.

He then traveled by road to Churachandpur, where he will visit relief camps housing people displaced by ethnic violence.

Gandhi was accompanied by state Congress president Keisham Meghachandra and CLP leader O Ibobi Singh.

Meghachandra told reporters that Gandhi's visit aims to provide support to the affected people and assess the situation firsthand, reflecting the party's commitment to addressing their concerns after the recent violence.

Here are some visuals from a relief camp at Tuibong village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's visit.

In an interview with the news agency ANI, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out that Rahul Gandhi's visit to Manipur marks his third trip to the state while questioning the Prime Minister's "silence on Manipur".

"Non-biological Prime Minister is going to Moscow and Rahul ji, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, is going to Manipur. This is his third visit. In the last 17 months, the Prime Minister has not said anything about Manipur. He has not met the Chief Minister of Manipur, has not met the political parties of Manipur, MPs, MLAs and he has not gone to Manipur at all, not even for 45 hours," he said. 

"This is the third visit of Rahul Gandhi to show people in a sensitive way that your pain is our pain... The Supreme Court has said that the constitutional machinery, the constitutional system, has collapsed there and we cannot trust the state government. This is what the Supreme Court said, these are their comments..." the Congress leader said. 

Rahul Gandhi meets internally displaced people from the Meitiei community in a Jiribam relief camp.

"I stand with the people of Assam, I am their soldier in Parliament, and I urge the central government to extend all possible help and support to the state expeditiously' " Rahul Gandhi posted on X, after visiting a flood relief camp at Fulertal in Assam's Cachar district this morning.

"Assam needs a 'comprehensive and compassionate vision-relief, rehabilitation and compensation in the short term, and a pan-Northeast water management authority to do everything necessary to control floods in the long term. The extreme devastation caused by flooding in Assam is heartbreaking-with innocent children like 8-year old Avinash being taken away from us. My heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved families across the state," he said.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the AICC’s in-charge for Manipur Girish Chodankar said: “This will be Rahul ji’s first official visit to Manipur after becoming LoP in the Lok Sabha. He has been to Hathras and Ahmedabad since – the Hathras visit was to meet victims of stampede incident and the Ahmedabad one was to meet party workers and leaders.”

“We want to show that Manipur is very much a part of India… Rahul ji‘s visit is not a political one, but just for sharing the pain of the people of Manipur. He is going there with the message of love. Wherever there is hatred, he will go with love. We are hopeful that the PM goes there too after seeing Rahul Gandhi go there for the third time since the violence started,” said Chodankar.

The Congress-led Opposition has raised the issue of Manipur crisis repeatedly in both Houses of Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi has reached Jiribam and is meeting with displaced Meitei people in a relief camp there

Lok Sabha LoP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reaches Silchar Airport in Assam again. He will visit Manipur later for the second leg of his one-day trip today.

VIDEO | Lok Sabha LoP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi meets flood victims at a relief camp in Silchar, Assam. pic.twitter.com/0Zuf6EZQGE

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2024

A team of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) led by President Bhupen Borah submitted a memorandum to LoP Rahul Gandhi, urging him to raise the issue of perennial floods in Assam in Parliament

Rahul Gandhi was received at the airport by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah and other leaders. 

Borah submitted a memorandum to the Congress MP urging him to take up the issue of the devastating flood with the Centre as a special case to get adequate relief and compensation for the severe losses incurred due to the deluge. 'We will be grateful to you for carrying our voice of agony to the Centre', he said.

Assam should get a package to tackle the grim situation, 'as the state government has failed to get adequate funds from the Centre, a double failure of the double engine government", Borah added.

Early Monday at around 3.30 am, unidentified gunmen opened fire from Phaitol in the neighbouring hill district of Tamenglong towards a police outpost in Gularthol in Jiribam.

SP Jiribam Pradip Singh told The Indian Express that by 10.00 am, Tamenglong police had arrested two people from the Kuki-Zo community in connection with the firing and had recovered some weapons as well. While there were no injuries in the firing, an armoured Casspir vehicle was among the things that came under fire.

“There was proper coordination between the police, the CRPF and the Assam Rifles in countering the attack,” SP Singh said.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh in a post on X said, "Today, the non-biological PM goes to Moscow while the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha heads for Assam and Manipur. Of course, the drumbeaters of the non-biological PM have claimed that he stopped the Russia-Ukraine war for some time. Presumably, this Moscow trip will lead to even more bizarre claims," he said.

This is Rahul Gandhi's third visit to Manipur ever since the "state blew up" fourteen months ago, Ramesh said.

"The non-biological PM has not found the time nor even had the inclination to visit Manipur even for a few hours after the grave crisis erupted on May 3rd, 2023. He (Modi) has not even met the CM of the state - who happens to be from his own party - and other political leaders of the state, including MLAs and MPs," Ramesh added.

"Gunmen fired several rounds around 3:30 am towards the Meitei area of Gularthal, prompting security forces to retaliate. The exchange of fire continued till 7 am," an official said was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Security personnel have been deployed in the surrounding areas as a preventive measure ahead of Congress MP and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's visit to the northeastern state to meet violence-affected people.

One bulletproof vehicle of the state police also was hit by gunshots during the attack, the official said.

The latest round of violence erupted in Jiribam district in Manipur after a 59-year-old man, identified as Soibam Saratkumar Singh, was found dead, with his body bearing signs of injuries made by a sharp object. The mob rampage that followed prompted the Jiribam administration to impose prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144.

Over 230 people from Mongbung, Lamlai Khunou, and surrounding villages fled their homes and are currently taking refuge in two relief camps at the Jiribam district headquarters. To bring the situation under control, a large contingent of state police was flown to the district using an Indian Air Force helicopter

"The flood situation in Assam is becoming increasingly dangerous. My thoughts are with our brothers and sisters reeling under the deluge. Deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I appeal to Congress leaders and workers to provide help in rescue and rehabilitation operations. I urge the Central and State governments to compassionately and expeditiously extend all possible support to those affected," Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X on Sunday.

In view of the Congress MP'  visit, the Jiribam district administration in Assam has beefed up security arrangements.

The authorities have declared Jiribam a ‘No Fly Zone’ and banned aerial photography/videography in any form.

This will be the Congress leader's first visit to the Northeast after becoming the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha

After reaching the airport in Assam's Cachar district, Rahul Gandhi will be going to a flood relief camp in Lakhipur and interacting with the people who have taken shelter there, as per a state Congress spokesperson.

As the flood situation in Assam continues to be severe, about 22.70 lakh people in 28 districts have been affected as of Monday morning.

A total of 78 people have been killed in this year's floods, landslides and storms in the state, as per PTI

Rahul Gandhi will meet violence-affected people in relief camps in three places – Jiribam, Churachandpur (districts), and Moirang (Bishnupur district).

In the evening around 6.30 pm, he is also scheduled to meet Governor Anusuiya Uikey to discuss the ongoing Manipur crisis.

The LoP in Lok Sabha's visit to Jiribam is of significance because the distrct had remained largely unaffected by the clashes until June this year. A killing shattered its year-long peace.

Welcome to the live blog!

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will be in Assam and Manipur today. His first trip to the northeastern states after the Lok Sabha polls being seen as an opportunity for the Opposition Congress party to target PM Modi and the BJP on its stance in the ongoing ethnic crisis in Manipur.

STAY TUNED for real-time updates as we track Rahul Gandhi's day-long visit today!