Congress on Saturday [9 March 2024] took a fresh dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the Kaziranga National Park which he visited as part of the Assam tour, saying that the park owes much to the ‘great interest shown both by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.’
“We’re glad that the Prime Minister has found time amidst his various travels to spend today morning in Kaziranga, an iconic national park, which owes much to the great interest shown both by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. However, beyond Kaziranga, here are four questions for him on the increasingly disturbed situation in different parts of the northeast of India,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on social media platform X today.
The questions from Ramesh included the India-China border situation, the Manipur crisis, the situation in eastern Nagaland, and the “re-emergence of separatist groups” in Assam. On the India-China border row, the Congress leader alleged
‘By giving a public clean chit to China, the Prime Minister has tied his own hands and failed to take action to restore the status quo after Chinese aggression. Chinese troops continue to deny Indian citizens access to grazing lands and Indian patrols access to strategic spots along the LAC, where they previously had unimpeded access. There have been multiple instances of PLA troops kidnapping Indian citizens on Indian soil.’
He also lashed out at the Prime Minister over the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur saying ‘Why has the Prime Minister, ordinarily misusing taxpayer’s money to campaign around the country, not found the time to visit Manipur yet, or even take a call with the Chief Minister and the political parties of the state? Is he waiting for the people of India to buy him a ticket to Imphal?’
Ramesh further asked what steps Modi Sarkar was taking to “defuse” the situation “brewing” in eastern Nagaland today. The criticism comes at a time when the Prime minister is on a two-day visit to Assam as part of ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit North-East’ programme where he is set to inaugurate a slew of development projects and schemes.
