Rahul Gandhi to visit riot affected areas of Manipur; first visit after becoming leader of opposition on Monday

NEW DELHI: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to visit riot-hit areas of Manipur. He will reach Manipur on July 8 (Monday). Rahul will visit the insurgency-affected areas of the state and those living in camps. He will also hold talks with Congress PCC leaders. This is the first time Rahul is visiting riot-torn Manipur after becoming the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi, who had earlier visited the riot-hit areas of Manipur, had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of not seeing the riots and attacks in Manipur. Rahul had raised the issue of Manipur in Parliament in his first Lok Sabha speech after becoming the Leader of the Opposition. He criticized the central government for the Manipur riots in harsh language.

"Take it in writing that Congress will contest in Gujarat and defeat Narendra Modi and BJP in Gujarat like we did in Ayodhya. Congress will win Gujarat, and from the state it will make a new start," Rahul Gandhi said. "Narendra Modi wanted to contest polls from Faizabad, which includes Ayodhya, but his surveyors advised him against this saying he will be defeated and his political career will end," said the opposition leader targetting the prime minister.

Rahul Gandhi had also spoken about the reasons why the BJP lost in Ayodhya. "An international airport was built on farmers' land in Ayodhya. However, the farmers were not adequately compensated. Not a single person from Ayodhya was invited to the inauguration of the Ram Temple. Not a single common man was seen in the Pranapratishta attended by Adani and Ambani," Rahul accused.