'Kazan beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits': Congress' dig at PM ahead of BRICS summit

New Delhi: Ahead of the BRICS Summit in Russia, the Congress took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and said Kazan certainly beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits.

Prime Minister Modi will attend the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan this week. He will pay a two-day visit to Kazan beginning Tuesday to attend the BRICS summit following an invitation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Congress has repeatedly urged PM Modi to visit violence-hit Manipur, stressing that it would help restore peace and normalcy there.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Tomorrow the BRICS plus Summit begins in Kazan, Russia. Like most things the non-biological PM claims credit for, there is a solid pre-2014 history to such a Summit." It was in November 2001 that the British economist Jim O'Neill first coined the term BRIC -- Brazil, Russia, India & China -- to draw attention to a quartet that could become major economic powers of the world by 2050, he pointed out.

In September 2006, foreign ministers of these four countries met in New York to explore how they could give political weight to O'Neill's economic concept, Ramesh said.

In June 2009, the presidents of China, Brazil, Russia and the Prime Minister of India met in Russia for the first ever BRIC Summit, he said, adding that South Africa was included in the group two years later when BRIC became BRICS.

New Delhi hosted the BRICS Summit in March 2012, the Congress leader noted.

"Now BRICS includes Egypt, Iran, UAE, and Ethiopia as full members. A number of other countries are waiting to join. The New Development Bank formally launched by BRICS in July 2014 is headquartered in Shanghai," he said.

"Kazan certainly beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits," Ramesh said.

Ethnic violence in Manipur first broke out on May 3 last year after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence.