Speaking at the 72nd Plenary Meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Agartala on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted the Centre’s achievements in curbing terrorism in the region.
He said that the efforts of the Narendra Modi government had reduced terrorism-related deaths by 86 percent in the last 10 years.
“We have been fighting terrorism for years… The aim of the police was to end the violence. That gets the job done. Now, it is time to ensure justice for the citizens of the Northeast. Now is the time to change the police culture in the Northeast,” the Union minister said.
He informed that since the formation of the Modi government in 2014, about 10,574 rebels have surrendered in this region and 20 agreements have been signed with the rebel groups.
Shah also stressed that the northeastern states need to fight the menace of drugs.
Then the Home Minister said that the time has come to develop the North-East and make the country a five billion dollar economy and the Ministry of Development of the North-East Region and the NEC are working towards it by following the main slogan of Act early, act fast, and act first.”
“Prime Minister Modi with his foresight and sensitivity brought it (Northeast) to the center of development. Due to the unprecedented development of infrastructure in the Northeast in the last 10 years, not only the physical distance has reduced, but Prime Minister Modi has also worked to reduce the heart distance between the region and the people of Delhi,’ he said. .
Highlighting the importance of NEC, Shah said that for more than 50 years, it has played an important role in aligning the policies of the center and the states.
He also informed that the Union Cabinet has decided to help set up three semiconductor units in the Northeast. One of these units – Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd – will be set up in Assam at an investment of around Rs 27,000 crore, Shah said, making it the largest ever in the sector.
Meanwhile, attending a banking summit later in the day at a private hotel in the city, the home minister admitted, “We have come to the Northeast, which is a bigger region than Uttar Pradesh collectively. We have been slow to explore its potential.”
Referring to the Indo-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 1974, and the 2011 protocol to the agreement with the then Sheikh Hasina-led government, Shah said that goods produced in the Northeast would have direct access to the international market through the Chittagong port. Bangladesh. However, he did not speak about the rise of ‘anti-India’ sentiment in Bangladesh after Hasina’s ouster earlier this year or the fate of several connectivity projects between the two nations.
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