"Came To Listen": Rahul Gandhi After Manipur Speed Bump - 10 Points

"I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur. People of all communities are being very welcoming and loving. It's very unfortunate that the government is stopping me. Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority," Mr Gandhi said in a tweet.

The 53-year-old was travelling to Churachandpur district, one of the worst affected areas in the violence, on the first day of his two-day trip when security forces stopped his convoy at Bishnupur, about 20 km from the capital Imphal, citing security fears. Teargas shells were then fired to disperse a crowd that had started gathering in the area.

"Seeing the ground situation, we stopped him from moving forward and advised him to travel to Churachandpur via helicopter. There is a possibility of a grenade attack along the highway through which Rahul Gandhi is moving. Keeping his security and safety in mind, we've not allowed him," Bishnupur police chief Heisnam Balram Singh told news agency ANI.

Mr Gandhi's convoy returned to Imphal, and he reached Churachandpur by helicopter, Meghachandra Singh, Manipur state Congress president, said. There, he visited a relief camp and spoke with people, hours behind schedule.

The Congress lashed out at the government over the police action and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using "autocratic methods" to stall Mr Gandhi's "compassionate outreach" to those hit by ethnic violence. The government action is "totally unacceptable and shatters all constitutional and democratic norms," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

The Trinamool Congress also hit out at the centre, alleging that it showed the BJP's "desperation". "Modi-Shah's BJP is desperate now. A month ago, Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter seeking permission to enter Manipur. She was not allowed. Exactly a month later, Rahul Gandhi was also denied entry. This is definitely the last 300 days of the BJP government," Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien said.

At least 100 people have been killed and more than 40,000 have fled their homes since clashes broke out in Manipur in early May between ethnic groups.

Sporadic incidents of violence and arson still occur despite the heavy presence of security forces in parts of the remote state, which borders Myanmar.

Violence between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the lowlands, erupted on May 3 as a result of resentment over economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people.

Several rounds of peace talks between the groups have broken down and failed to end violent incidents in the state governed by the BJP.