NEW DELHI: The Congress has questioned the central government's decision to convene an all-party meeting on Manipur violence in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi alleged that this shows that the presence of the Prime Minister is not important. Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the all-party meeting in Delhi tomorrow at 3 pm.

'Manipur has been burning for 50 days, but the prime minister has remained silent. An all-party meeting has been called when the prime minister himself is not in the country. Clearly, this meeting is not important for the prime minister,'' Rahul Gandhi said.

''Any effort for peace must take place in Manipur, where the warring communities are brought on the discussion table and a political solution is arrived at. This effort will lack seriousness if it is done sitting in Delhi,'' Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said.

Expressing concern over the prevailing situation in Manipur, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said that the unprecedented violence that has devastated the lives of people in Manipur has "left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation" while appealing for peace and harmony in the state.

"The unprecedented violence that has devastated the lives of people in Manipur has left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation," she said in a tweet.