Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, has visited a north-eastern state beset by two months of violence as a shootout there claimed two more lives.
The shooting on the outskirts of Imphal, the state capital of Manipur, also left four wounded.
The party has accused the government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, of abject failure over the crisis in Manipur, which has claimed more than 100 lives and displaced thousands since clashes broke out in early May between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in Manipur’s hills, and the Meitei people, the dominant community in the lowlands.
Gandhi headed out by road with Congress supporters on Thursday to one of the worst-hit areas, the district of Churachandpur. But police blocked their passage for hours, citing security concerns amid a protest by some womens’ groups opposing Gandhi’s visit, said Sambit Patra, a spokesperson for the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party.
When dozens of Gandhi’s supporters refused to turn back, police fired teargas, according to footage broadcast by TV stations.
The Congress party president, Mallikarjun Kharge, accused the government of intentionally stalling a “compassionate outreach” by Gandhi. “This is totally unacceptable and shatters all constitutional and democratic norms,” Kharge tweeted.
Gandhi later accepted a police offer to travel by helicopter to Churachandpur, ending the standoff.
Modi has not visited the state, located in the north-east on the border with Myanmar, since the violence began. His home minister, Amit Shah, has been once but failed to make any headway in reducing tensions.
Clashes between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe, were caused by resentment among Kukis towards Meitei demands for access to economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people.
The Kukis believe that the Meitei do not need quotas because they are the majority, dominate the state government, and mostly live in the capital, Imphal, which is much more developed than the hill areas.
The humanitarian crisis has spread to neighbouring states, especially Mizoram, which has received 12,000 people fleeing for their safety.
They have been fed and housed thanks in part to the church and voluntary groups because, despite the Mizoram government’s request for funds, the Delhi government has not provided any financial assistance. The Mizoram chief minister, Zoramthanga (who goes by only one name), has said funds are urgently needed, particularly since people are continuing to arrive from Manipur.
“So many children have been admitted to schools in Mizoram, healthcare facilities are being provided, food is being provided. We are doing our best to provide for them despite our shoestring budget,” he said.
During two months of violence and deepening mistrust, the Kukis have said they have no faith that the state government, which is ruled by a chief minister who is a Meitei, can be impartial. Many of them are demanding a separate homeland.
Some observers have even warned that civil war is a possibility unless the national government can bring about – if not a reconciliation which seems unlikely – some sort of agreement between the two groups that will allow them to live together peacefully.
