Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today head to Moscow following an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin for summit-level talks. The PM will be in Moscow on July 8 and 9 for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. PM Modi is visiting Russia for the first time since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in Vladivostok. The last bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Putin took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in September 2022. PM Modi had then told Putin that “this is not the era of war”.

On the other hand, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday met flood-hit citizens in Assam’s Cachar district before heading to neighbouring Manipur where he visited a relief camp in Jiribam and interacted with those affected by the year-long ethnic violence. This was Gandhi’s first visit to the Northeast after becoming the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

Assam is battling severe floods following torrential rainfall, causing landslides and overflowing rivers. Over 23 lakh people in 28 districts have been affected by the deluge. About 78 people have died in the state so far.

The Congress took this opportunity to attack PM Modi saying while it will be Rahul Gandhi’s third visit to Manipur since violence broke out in May last year, the PM hasn’t found the time to visit the state.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on X, “Today, the non-biological PM goes to Moscow while the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha heads for Assam and Manipur. Of course, the drumbeaters of the non-biological PM have claimed that he stopped the Russia-Ukraine war for some time. Presumably, this Moscow trip will lead to even more bizarre claims,” he said.

“This is Rahul Gandhi’s third visit to Manipur ever since the “State blew up” fourteen months ago,” Ramesh said.

“The non-biological PM has not found the time nor even had the inclination to visit Manipur even for a few hours after the grave crisis erupted on May 3rd, 2023. He has not even met the CM of the State – who happens to be from his own party – and other political leaders of the State, including MLAs and MPs,” Ramesh alleged in his post.

Meanwhile, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused Rahul Gandhi of indulging in “sick tragedy tourism”. He even alleged that the violence in Manipur was the Congress’ legacy.

“The ethnic conflict in Manipur is a legacy of the Congress party. The state has witnessed the killing of civilians, police and Army personnel for decades, while Congress was in power,” he wrote on X.

“Forget Third Time Fail Rahul Gandhi, did any Congress leader, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was a member of Rajya Sabha from Assam, visit the strife-torn region. ‘Balak Buddhi’ (a grown man with a child’s mind) is simply indulging in sick tragedy tourism,” he said.

During a debate in Lok Sabha last week, Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of pushing Manipur into a “civil war” due to its policies and politics. The Rae Bareli MP also criticised PM Modi for not visiting the state even once since ethnic violence broke out there.

“You have immersed Manipur into a civil war. Manipur has been burnt by you, your policies and your politics,” he had said.

In Lok Sabha on July 2, PM Modi’s over two-hour-long reply to the Motion of Thanks for the President’s address was disrupted by Opposition members, who raised slogans of “Justice for Manipur” and “Bharat Jodo” to make their point.

The following day, replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi said the Centre was working with the state government to restore normalcy. He said that more than 500 people have been arrested and more than 11,000 FIRs have been registered in Manipur. As Manipur was facing a flood situation as well, the Centre has sent two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to the state, PM Modi informed the House.

Violence erupted in Manipur between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May last year, resulting in around 200 deaths and displacing thousands due to widespread arson that destroyed homes and government buildings.