Sonowal: Under Modi-govt Northeast has awakened out of Congress' neglect

NEW DELHI: Northeast region has “awakened” from the decades of “neglect” under Congress rule and has borne the fruit of positive steps of the Modi-government in the last nine years, said union minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday. He said that the region has emerged as the “powerhouse of India’s” growth story, as the government has infused over Rs 5 lakh crore grant to the region in this period giving major boost to its infrastructure, including roadway, railways, waterways and air connectivity with total airports itself risen to 17 from 9 in 2014.

The former Assam CM said that the PM has delivered more than his guarantees for the region, Sonowal said: “Under the dynamic leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the Northeast is the powerhouse of India’s cruise towards self-reliance. Given the transformational connectivity that northeast has experienced in the last nine years, the region has now become the potential hotspot of trade and commerce. Modi ji realised the strategic importance of the northeast and enabled an environment of economic resurgence with promising commerce with the ASEAN, BBIN group of countries.”

Reiterating the focus of the Centre on the region, the minister cited Modi’s record 64 visits to the eight states, and 362 visits in the last two years and over 800 times in over nine years by central ministers on the PM’s instruction.

Sonowal accused the Congress of pushing the region into uncertainty with terrorism, protests, weak governments, bad policies and scams afflicting the region, and drew parallel to BJP-rule during which “More than 8,000 insurgents have surrendered … Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been completely withdrawn from Tripura and Meghalaya, significant reduction of area under the act in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. With historic peace accords with Bodos, Naga, Karbi, Tripuri and Bru and Adivasi, the disgruntled communities have been brought to the mainstream through dialogue, resulting in sustained peace in the region …”

Lashing out at the Congress, the senior BJP leader alleged that the Congress was mostly interested in looting its resources while people had to protest for basic development needs and the region’s representatives had to wait for months in the national capital to get appointments with ministers and officials, often in vain.