New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the BJP has abolished the "culture of corruption" in the Northeast and that monies allocated for development activities are now being distributed to the last man, but during the Congress regime, intermediaries syphoned off the majority of the cash. He said that the region had been ignored for 50 years during Congress control and that it only began to flourish rapidly when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, news agency PTI reported.
Addressing a public event in Namsai district, Shah slammed the Congress for questioning Modi about what he accomplished for the region, claiming that the grand old party will be unable to witness growth if its eyes are closed.
"Rahul Gandhi, open your eyes and discard Italian glasses and wear Indian ones. Then only, you could see what development Modi has brought to the region, which your party failed to do in 50 years," he was quoted by PTI in its report.
"Development funds for the region were siphoned off by middlemen during the Congress rule. But with the NDA under the leadership of PM Modi coming to power in 2014, the culture of corruption has ended and every single penny is being utilised with utter transparency. The prime minister has ensured that development funds get percolated down to the last man," Shah said.
He asserted that the Northeast was formerly renowned for militancy owing to the previous government's flawed policies, but that calm now reigns as the Centre has signed peace treaties with the majority of insurgent organisations.
"As many as 9,600 militants in the region have surrendered and joined the mainstream in the last eight years. Youths of the Northeast are no longer interested in gun culture and are now launching start-ups. The Centre is committed to bringing peace and development to the region," Shah said.
In reference to the decades-long border dispute between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, the home minister praised the chief ministers of both states for commencing the process in the right spirit.
"Chief Ministers Pema Khandu and Himanta Biswa Sharma are working meticulously to resolve the issue amicably and I am sure it will be resolved soon," he said.
Arunachal Pradesh, which was formed from Assam, began as a Union territory. In 1987, it became a full-fledged state. The two countries share an 804.1-kilometer boundary. The border dispute, which arose with the reorganisation of the northeastern states, is currently before the Supreme Court.
The Union Home Minister stated that a three-pronged strategy for the development of the Northeast has been established.
"Our first aim is to not only save the dialects, languages, traditional dance, music and food of the Northeast, but also enrich them and make them the pride of the nation," he said.
The second goal is to terminate all problems, giving the region's young a platform to compete with the youth of the globe, and it is our job to establish such a dispute-free, peaceful, extremist-free, weapon-free Northeast.
"The third goal is to take all the eight states of the region to the top position in the list of the most developed states of the country," he said.
Earlier in the day, Shah and Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju, as well as Chief Minister Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein, performed prayers at Tengapani's Golden Pagoda.
(With PTI Inputs)