On Sept 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the policemen who were on duty during the G20 Summit for dinner. This is a well conceived gesture for the law enforcement people who are expected to work round the clock to make events like the Summit successful. If such sentiments do reside in the heart of our Prime Minister then one is at an inexplicable loss to explain why he has not visited Manipur for so long and where some 150 people have died and some 5,000 houses have been burnt and razed to the ground in the unrest. Modi immediately after the Balasore train accident which had a similar number of fatalities found it fit to visit the accident site and announce relief to the dead and injured. That the head of the Government should avoid visiting Manipur at a time when the territory is wrought with ethnic riots is a shame on 21st Century India and on the BJP. Even the other day Chief Minister Sangma of Meghalaya who must be more in the know about the situation in Manipur had said that the Prime Minister should visit the State. Today it is Manipur that is suffering because of neglect, tomorrow it could be any other State of India.
