Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has sharply criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent three-hour visit to Manipur, calling it “tokenism,” “a grave insult” and “not compassion.” Kharge said the PM’s roadshows in Imphal and Churachandpur amount to a “cowardly escape” from visiting relief camps and addressing the suffering of those displaced by over 860 days of ethnic violence.

According to Kharge, nearly 300 people have been killed, more than 67,000 displaced, and 1,500+ injured in the unrest.He lambasted the Modi government for “46 foreign trips since the violence began” without once visiting the state to express sympathy. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also weighed in, saying the visit should have come much earlier, and criticized the delay given the extent of loss and suffering.

The PM is set to inaugurate development projects worth thousands of crores during this visit, but Congress asserts that grand welcomes and speeches do little unless matched by genuine engagement with those in pain.