Mokokchung (Nagaland): Senior Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi have said that as an Indian he felt ashamed that the Prime Minister of the country did not visit Manipur after what happened there.

Addressing a large public gathering en route his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra here today, Gandhi said, the purpose of doing it (the Nyay Yatra) from the east to the west was to send a message that the North East is as important as any other part of India. “It does not matter if the population is less, importance has to be the same”, he remarked amidst cheers and loud applause from the crowd.

Referring to the violence in Manipur, he said, he felt ashamed that the Prime Minister of the country had still not visited Manipur after what happened there. “Their politics has torn the state apart. They have divided the state. They have weaponised the state. They have burnt the state and they cannot set a foot in the state”, he said, about BJP and RSS while referring to the violence in Manipur. He said, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is for fighting against this form of politics.

“I am feeling equally ashamed that the Indian Prime Minister made a commitment to the people of Nagaland nine years ago and has done nothing about it”, he said, while referring to the Prime Minister not fulfilling the promises made in the Naga Accord in 2015.

“If you don’t have a solution, you should not lie and say you have a solution”, he told the Prime Minister, adding, “sad having to say that what the Prime Minister committed nine years ago was an empty promise”.

At the same time, Gandhi assured, “we are committed to do the hard work required to get a solution for you”. He said, he understood that the issues concerning the Naga people are serious and there is a requirement for a solution.

Praising the people of Nagaland for their honesty, simplicity and straightforwardness, he said, once the yatra is complete, he will come back again to spend some time there. “You are straightforward, decent and honest people and I am also like you”, he told the crowd, drawing huge applause and cheers.

He said he had noticed discipline among people in Nagaland, as there was no pulling and pushing. “You respect other people’s space and we want to build such type of India”, he told the people gathered there, adding that he felt grateful to them and their ancestors for bequeathing such great and glorious traditions.

Spelling out the mission of the Nyay Yatra, he said, he sought parity in opportunities for different people; between the privileged and the less privileged pointing out how much difficulty students from the state will be facing in competing in various exams with those students who had better resources.

Besides, he added, the idea of the Nyay Yatra was to draw the attention of the rest of the country towards the people of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and to the people who are not part of the development taking place”.