Manipur doesn't need visit by leaders to exacerbate fault lines: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the situation in Manipur demands bridging differences through compassion and not a visit by a political leader to exacerbate the fault lines, in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's daylong trip to the ethnic strife-torn state.

Sarma, who is also the convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the NDA's northeast chapter, said Gandhi's visit to Manipur is nothing but media hype and at this point, no one should try to take political mileage from the northeastern state's "tragic" situation.

"Situation in Manipur demands bridging differences through compassion. It's not in the nation's interest for a political leader to use his so-called visit to exacerbate fault lines. Both the communities of the state have clearly rejected such attempts," Sarma said in a tweet.

 

Talking to reporters, Sarma said the state and central governments are handling the Manipur situation and such daylong visits, such as Gandhi's, will not have any positive outcome.

"He (Gandhi) is visiting Manipur just for a day. It is nothing but media hype. Had there been positive results from the visit, it would have been a different matter, but there will be no outcome from such a visit," Sarma said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said Manipur is facing a "tragic situation" and no one should attempt to take advantage of it.

Manipur witnessed high drama on Thursday over Gandhi's visit to relief camps in Churachandpur after the former Congress chief's convoy was stopped by police midway and he had to take a helicopter to reach his destination.

The blocking of Gandhi's convoy triggered a political slugfest as the Congress alleged that the BJP-led government is trying to thwart his visit, while the saffron party accused him of being stubborn and choosing to take the road trip even though he was advised to take a chopper as his visit was opposed in various quarters.