PM Modi seen here at the meeting with BJP CMs. Manipur CM N Biren Singh is second from the left in the bottom row, in this image.
Credit: PTI Photo
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday raised questions about whether Manipur CM N Biren Singh actually met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Taking to X, Ramesh took note of the fact that news is doing the rounds that Modi and Singh had a closed-door meeting at which Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were also present.
"This morning news has been put out that the embattled Manipur CM had a short closed-door meeting with the non-biological PM, in which the self-styled Chankya and the Raksha Mantri were also present," Ramesh said, adding that in such situations, images of the meeting are put out on X.
However, no such images were forthcoming either from Modi or Singh, which caused Ramesh to wonder "Why this reluctance? Or is it that the meeting never actually took place?"
He added that a photograph of the Arunachal Pradesh CM meeting the PM had been posted 'through and by' the PMO.
Ramesh was also quick to raise the question of whether Singh had invited Modi to visit Manipur either before or after his Ukraine visit. The PM not visiting the northeastern state, torn in internal conflict between Kukis and Meiteis, has become a talking point for the opposition.
This was Singh's first meeting with Modi since violence broke out on May 3, 2023.
Singh had initially gone to attend the meeting Modi called with BJP CMs, and met the PM privately for 15-20 minutes, HT reported. Congress, reiterating this claim, asked whether Singh had discussed the situation in his state with Modi.
"The simple question that the people of Manipur are asking is this: Did Shri N. Biren Singh meet with Shri Narendra Modi separately one-on-one and discuss the situation in Manipur, which started burning on the night of May 3rd 2023?," Ramesh asked. Some 200 people have been killed and displaced in the violence that broke out there.
The Manipur CM also attended the NITI Aayog meeting and has offered to personally invite members of the Kuki community to the upcoming state assembly session.