Assembly elections: Stability integral to progress, says PM in volatile Nagaland

KOHIMA: In his first visit to the remote town of Tuensang, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the northeast is at the Centre of the Act East Policy and development of the region is integral to the progress of the nation.
"Unless the northeast is developed, the dream of having a developed country will not be achieved. Which is why the BJP government is paying special attention to the requirement of the region," Modi said."The BJP-NDPP alliance power te ahise koele development apuni laga bosti te punchai dibo (If BJP-NDPP alliance comes to power we will bring development to your villages)," the PM said, switching to the Nagamese dialect from Hindi, which he used for most of his address.
'Stability' was the recurring point of his 42-minute address at Tuensang. "Nagaland needs a stable government with a strong leadership for development," Modi said, referring to the frequent change of guard in the state. Power has changed hands in the state four times in the past five years. The Tuensang district has seven seats - of which BJP is contesting three and NDPP the remaining four.
Infrastructure remains a significant touchstone for the BJP campaign in the northeast. Reiterating the 'transformation through transportation' message he had given in his last visit to Meghalaya, Modi said, "Connectivity is a huge challenge in Nagaland. We are working relentlessly towards it. In less than four years, we have added 500 km of national highways. We have also planned to invest more than Rs 10,000 crore in the development of roads in Nagaland."
He added that the Centre also plans on getting all state capitals on the national railway grid. He announced that Rs 3,000 crore have been sanctioned for Dimapur-Kohima rail connectivity. In terms of air connectivity, he promised Dimapur and Shillong will be connected by flights soon. He further said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 1,800 crore for the Kohima Smart City project.
The contentious Naga "political issue", will be resolve soon, Modi said. "Solution of the Naga political problem will strengthen the democracy of the country and therefore we will make all efforts to solve the problem," he added. The demand for a greater Nagaland, pursued by Naga outfits, has long been a politically charged issue. While the Centre is holding peace talks with seven Naga groups, including the NSCN (I-M), the contents of the framework agreement have not been revealed.