Indian opposition hope to open voters’ minds to idea that PM is actually responsible for societal problems

During his near-decade in power, as India has convulsed with sectarian riots, mass protests at government policies, or popular rage at heinous crimes, Narendra Modi has hewed closely to playbook: say nothing, and stay above the fray.

The Indian prime minister has never taken questions at a press conference in the country, declines interviews with critical journalists, and leaves daily commentary to his lieutenants or an army of online trolls. The grubby cut-and-thrust of electoral politics is for others; Modi instead is cast in loftier terms as the “messiah of the poor”.

PM attacks opposition parties during no-confidence motion called to force him to address ethnic violence in far-east

Opposition parties have walked out of the Indian parliament in protest at the refusal of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to address ethnic violence in the state of Manipur – a situation that has been described as being close to civil war.

The opposition had tabled a no-confidence vote in Modi largely to force him to appear and speak about the three-month-long crisis, about which he had refused to say more than a few words.

Congress party accused Narendra Modi of ‘abject failure’ over two-month long crisis between majority Meitei and Kuki groups

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, has visited a north-eastern state beset by two months of violence as a shootout there claimed two more lives.

The shooting on the outskirts of Imphal, the state capital of Manipur, also left four wounded.

Ethnic violence in north-eastern state has led to more than 100 deaths since breaking out in early May

India’s home affairs minister, Amit Shah, has called opposition parties for talks on Saturday to discuss an outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur state in the north-east, in a sign that the government has acknowledged the situation has spun out of its control.

More than 100 people have died and 50,000 have been displaced since clashes broke out in early May between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and the Meitei people, the dominant community in the lowlands. Churches, temples, shops and businesses have been destroyed.