New Delhi. Congress on Thursday said in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Laos that the Northeast is the gateway to ASEAN, but he (the Prime Minister) did not visit violence-hit Manipur. Prime Minister Modi reached Laos on Thursday on a two-day visit to participate in the ASEAN-India and East Asia Summit. Modi is on a two-day visit to the country at the invitation of Sonexa Sifnadon, Prime Minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos (Lao PDR).
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on ‘X’, “This needs to be said again and again. The Prime Minister has left for Laos. He will definitely talk more about India’s ‘Act East’ policy which is said to have started in 2014. But India’s ‘Look East’ policy was in existence almost two decades before that.” He said that India’s gateway to ‘ASEAN’ is our North-East.
Ramesh asked why Narendra Modi is continuously refusing to visit the troubled state of Manipur which is burning in the fire of violence since May 2023? The Congress leader said, “His continuous refusal to go to Manipur is beyond anyone’s understanding. The people of Manipur, who have been forced to endure so much pain and suffering, certainly have the right to such a visit.”