Nagaland Elections 2023: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that he is confident that Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) will be removed from the state of Nagaland completely in the coming 3-4 years. The Home Minister made the remarks while addressing a public gathering in poll-bound Nagaland’s Tuensang. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done a lot of work in these nine years to establish peace in the entire Northeast.
“Today a large part of Nagaland has been freed from AFSPA. I am sure that in the coming 3-4 years, we will free the whole of Nagaland from AFSPA,” Shah added.
Talking about the issue of eastern Nagaland, Shah promised that after the elections, all issues relating to the region will be resolved. He said that before 2014, Nagaland was full of violence, insurgency, bomb blasts and bandhs.
“However, after PM Modi came to centre through peace accords we have ensured a progressive path for Nagaland. PM Modi has taken several decisions in the last 9 years to restore peace in the region,” he further said.
He said that before the elections, ENPO (Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organisation) had given a call to boycott polls raising the issues of their people from Eastern Nagaland. Shah said, “We have held discussions with the ENPO and the agreement is in its final stage.”
Shah lauded steps by the BJP-led government at the Centre in curbing the violence in Nagaland. He said the steps by PM Modi have led to a decrease of 70 percent in violent incidents, a 60 percent reduction in security personnel casualties, and an 83 percent reduction in civilian deaths making the region safe.
Shah mentioned the International Mother Language Day is being observed across the globe on Tuesday and apologised for not being able to speak in the local language.
He said, “The whole world is celebrating International Mother Language Day and I apologize for not being able to speak in the local tongue. But I would like to request you all to promote your tongue with the next generation.”
Shah also talked about budgetary allocation and development projects in the state. He said, “We have increased the budgetary allocations for tribes from Rs 21,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 86,000 crore in 2023.”
“By using space technology we have finalized more than 100 developmental projects spread across 13 areas including Nagaland. We have completed 53 developmental projects in the last 8 years and another 142 projects are in pipeline for Nagaland alone,” Shah added.
Asking people to back the BJP in upcoming polls, the minister said, “Support us in this election and I assure you that we will increase the free insurance cap under Ayushman Bharat from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 Lakh.”
He also clarified on symbols the party is using in the elections and said, “It has come to my notice that several parties are misleading you by saying that they have the support of the BJP. I want to clarify that we have only two symbols for Nagaland elections and those are Lotus and Globe. Vote for these and make a Samrudhh Nagaland.”
Polling in Nagaland will be held in a single phase on February 27 along with Meghalaya. The results of the election will come out on March 2, along with that of Tripura, which went to polls on February 16.