Manipur CM questions timing of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was flagged off in the state on Sunday, questioned whether it was time for politics by holding rallies in the violence-hit state.

When the situation is getting better in Manipur, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders are trying to make the situation more complicated, he alleged.

"Considering prevailing situation in the state, is it a time for politics by holding a rally ? This is the hour of protecting lives and properties, and providing comfort and relief,” Singh told the media on the sideline of a programme in Imphal.

Terming Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as ‘Bharat Todo’ (break India) yatra instead, he claimed that the situation in Manipur is gradually getting better and normalcy being restored.

"Whenever he (Gandhi) comes, problems crop up. If he comes, we have to be careful and alert so that he does not mess with the situation," Singh said.

Gandhi visited Manipur for two days in June last year, weeks after the violence broke out in the state on May 3, and visited a few districts and met the affected people lodged in relief camps.

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi led 10-years governance as “anyay kaal” (period of injustice), the Congress on Sunday launched the 66-day long Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur’s Thoubal district. The yatra will culminate in Mumbai on March 20 after covering 6,713 km through 15 states. After the BJP Government gave limited permission to use the Hapta Kangjeibung Palace ground in Imphal for launching the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, the Congress shifted the launch venue to Thoubal's Khongjom War Memorial.