Manipur governor, BJP MLAs hold talks ahead of PM Modi’s possible visit

Manipur Governor A.K. Bhalla held a high-level meeting with top bureaucrats and BJP MLAs, including N. Biren Singh, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible visit. The PM may travel to Imphal after inaugurating the Bairabi-Sairang railway in Mizoram

Imphal: Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Sunday held a high-level meeting with top bureaucrats and several BJP MLAs, including former Chief Minister N Biren Singh, at Raj Bhavan, officials said.

The meeting gains significance ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to Manipur in the second week of this month. If it materialises, it would be the PM’s first visit to the northeastern state since ethnic violence broke out in May 2023.

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Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh, and Director General of Police Rajiv Singh were among those who attended the meeting, the officials said. Although the agenda of the meeting was not officially disclosed, a BJP leader told PTI, “The meeting, which was also attended by our party’s State unit president A Sharda Devi, deliberated on multiple issues, including matters related to the likely visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The PM is likely to visit Mizoram on September 13 to inaugurate the new Bairabi-Sairang railway. From there, he might fly to Imphal, although there has been no official confirmation of his visit.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.