PM Modi to launch projects worth Rs 8,500 crore in Manipur today, first visit since 2023 ethnic violence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Manipur on Saturday in his first visit to the state since the 2023 ethnic violence broke out. State Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel on Friday said PM Modi will visit the northeastern state on September 13 and will unveil projects worth Rs 8,500 crore.

PM Modi's Manipur schedule

The prime minister will first arrive in Churachandpur from Mizoram, and then travel to the capital Imphal, he said.

"In line with his commitment to inclusive, sustainable and holistic development of Manipur, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at Churachandpur," Goel said at a press conference here.

The prime minister will inaugurate development projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore in Imphal on September 13.

He said the visit will help restore peace, normalcy, and growth in Manipur. The prime minister is also scheduled to meet internally displaced people in Churachandpur and Imphal, he added.

Manipur violence and political backlash

Violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was held in the hill districts to oppose the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Since then, the Opposition has repeatedly criticised the Prime Minister for not visiting the state.

In August 2023, the Opposition brought a no-confidence motion in Parliament, attempting to corner the Centre over the Manipur issue. The government countered by pointing to the Congress' failures in the northeast during its tenure, while PM Modi assured the people of Manipur that the nation stood with them and that a path to peace would be found.

Ahead of the visit, Congress leaders argued that coming more than two years after the violence began made it "too little, too late". On Friday, Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra called the visit "merely symbolic".