Absent yet aware? How Kiren Rijiju defends Modi's no-show in Manipur
India TodayKiren Rijiju speaks with the confidence of a man who knows he is at the centre of things. At the India Today Conclave 2025 in New Delhi, Rijiju’s arguments followed a distinct patterngovernance over optics, structural change over symbolism and a belief that the Narendra Modi government, unlike its predecessors, is in the business of solutions, not gestures. That, in essence, was Rijiju’s argument to address the question that has hung over Manipur like a restless shadowwhy has Prime Minister Narendra Modi not visited the state even after months of ethnic bloodshed? “But what happens when the Opposition’s goal is to create an atmosphere where nothing moves?” Being one of the most prominent faces of the Modi government from the Northeast, Rijiju was also keen to highlight the region’s transformation under the current administration. Reflecting on his early political career, Rijiju recounted that upon his election as a member of Parliament, the BJP’s presence in the Northeast was minimal, with scarcely any MLAs outside Assam.
History of this topic
‘What do you mean by PM visiting a place with problem?...’: Rijiju on Modi’s absence in Manipur
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