Rahul Gandhi vows to preserve Manipur's culture, history, tradition if voted to power

"The BJP's vision which we are fighting is one ideology, one idea and one language which it thinks is superior to all these. So, when the BJP and RSS come to Manipur, they come not with respect, but with a sense of superiority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji comes with the idea that he has a superior vision," the Congress leader said, at a rally here.

"They are coming to Manipur and assaulting your culture, history, tradition and language. I don't come here with a sense of superiority, but with 'humility' because I understand that you have a lot to give," he said.

Asserting that every single state has the right to have its language, culture, history and a way of looking at themselves, he said, "This is the vision we believe in. Congress will protect the culture, history and tradition of Manipur."

"Our aim is to protect the interest of Manipur", the Congress MP added.

Attacking the BJP, he said, "BJP talks about women empowerment. How many Ima market (mother's market) did BJP build in the last five years? Congress built Ima market. We will build more Ima markets."

"If our government comes, we will revive the MSME sector. We will focus on food processing and tourism industry," he vowed, as he appealed to people to vote for Congress.

Taking a dig at the PM over demonetisation, GST, unemployment, the Congress MP said, "Why is Modi ji not talking about demonetisation, GST and unemployment? He brought it to benefit only two to three industrialists."

Earlier, senior Congress leader and former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, during his address, in a veiled attack on the BJP said, "Time has come to teach them a lesson."

Assembly elections in Manipur will be held in two phases on Feb 28 and March 5.