Rahul Gandhi In Manipur: Congress Leader's Convoy Stopped By Cops Over Fear Of Violence

Manipur Police stopped Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (29 June), about 20 kilometres from Imphal, near Bishnupur, due to concerns of potential violence along the route.

After arriving in Imphal, Rahul Gandhi's convoy was halted on its way to Churachandpur.

At Churachandpur, Gandhi has a meeting scheduled with the people displaced by the ethnic clashes in the state.

The Meitei and Kuki communities have been clashing, causing tension in Manipur.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal expressed confusion over the police's decision to prevent Gandhi's car from proceeding.

Gandhi is, however, expected to take a chopper from Imphal to Churachandpur.

Prior to Gandhi's visit to Manipur, the All Manipur Students Union issued a statement condemning the successive governments in the state, naming the Congress in particular.

"The present communal crisis in Manipur is a result of the political blunders that have been committed by the successive governments that have ruled Manipur over time, and Congress has a big role to play," they said.

"In 2012, the Congress party deleted four Gram Panchayats and one Zila Parishad constituency which were part of the Imphal West district from the Manipur Panchayati Raj system and they were allotted to come under the autonomous district council of Kangopi district. It had further enhanced the dreamland of Kuki nation state," the students' union added.

The Congress tweeted: "Rahul ji has reached Manipur with the message of peace and love. The dictator is scared of this."

Several BJP supporters questioned Gandhi's visit to Manipur, as he is no longer an MP. Meanwhile, Amit Malviya of the BJP asked why Gandhi never visited Manipur between 2015 and 2017 when there was ethnic violence.