Amit Shah outlines three steps to turn northeast into ‘most-developed’ area

GUWAHATI: The Centre has adopted a three-pronged approach to rid the northeast of inter-state disputes, insurgency and illegal weapons, thereby laying the platform for the region to reclaim its sense of belonging and become the “most-developed” part of the country, Union home minister Amit Shah said in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap on Saturday.
“PM Modi started transforming northeast from 2014. Between then and 2022, he bridged the differences between the northeast and Delhi. Nobody used to care about the indigenous cultures and languages of the northeast, but he accorded importance to these,” Shah said at the golden jubilee celebration of Ramakrishna Mission School in Narottam Nagar.
“The whole country loves the northeast as much as they love their own states, and the northeast is also proudly saying today that, yes, we are part of a great India...We are India,” he said. The Union home minister said prioritising the resolution of boundary issues within the region had resulted in Assam and Meghalaya settling disputes at 60% of the flashpoints. “I am optimistic that the boundary issue between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, too, will be resolved by the end of 2023.”
On the Centre’s ongoing initiative to make the northeast insurgency-free, Shah said 9,000 militants had surrendered over the past eight years of the Modi government. “The youths of the northeast no longer carry guns and petrol bombs. They are now carrying laptops and launching startups. This is the path to development that the Centre has envisaged for the region.”
The Union home minister held up BJP-governed Manipur as an example of transformation in the northeast, saying a state that was infamous for bandhs and blockades was now witnessing a new dawn without any major strike or shutdown during the last five years. “Insurgency in the Bodoland region of Assam is also a thing of the past, thanks to the signing of the Bodo peace accord. Surrender of militant groups in Tripura and a resolution of the Bru refugee issue are other such initiatives of the Modi government. The home ministry has also taken steps to bring peace to Karbi Anglong in Assam,” Shah said.