Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Centre's objective of mainstreaming the northeast is bearing fruit, with all eight states in the region at various phases of development. He also said that the northeast, which was formerly synonymous with insurgency, has become tranquil as a result of the Narendra Modi government's initiatives.
During the day, Shah travelled to Manipur and Nagaland, two northeastern states with assembly elections this year.
In Manipur, he inaugurated and laid the groundwork for 21 development projects totaling Rs 1,311 crore. On the other side, the Union Home Minister launched five projects in Nagaland totaling Rs 52 crore later in the day.
"The central government's vision of mainstreaming the northeast has borne fruit," he said in Dimapur, adding that Modi had visited the region 51 times since taking office in 2014, news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Since 2014, the North East and Nagaland have seen a fourfold rise in fund allocation under the NDA, according to Shah.
According to him, the Modi government is concerned about the development of the North East, which is why the entire region and Nagaland are progressing through the stages of development.
In Nagaland, the Union government achieved the three Ps - Peace, Progress, and Prosperity, according to Shah.
Shah expressed optimism that the NDPP-BJP coalition in Nagaland will return to power in the upcoming election and lead the state to prosperity and progress.
According to Shah, Nagaland, which was once notorious for insurgency, is now a tranquil state with enormous tourism potential.
The insurgency in Nagaland was reduced by 74% between 2014 and 2021, said the Union Home Minister.
He stated that the process of abolishing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from Nagaland is progressing gradually.
Shah dedicated 42 virtual reality laboratories in 42 government upper secondary and secondary schools, nine Atal Tinkering labs in government higher secondary schools, and a power substation in Kohima district's Chiephobozou.
Earlier, speaking at a public rally in Moirang, Manipur's Bishnupur district, Shah stated that the BJP-led government at the Centre has invested Rs 3.45 lakh crore in the Northeast in less than eight years.
The Union home minister also unfurled a 165-foot-tall national flag at the Indian National Army headquarters in Moirang, where the tricolour was raised for the first time on Indian soil near the close of World War II.
At the memorial, Shah paid floral tributes to a portrait of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Chief Minister N Biren Singh accompanied him.
The Union Home Minister dedicated a medical college in Churachandpur, the first of its kind in the hill district.
Shah presented a 120-foot-tall statue of a polo player riding a pony at the Marjing Polo Complex in Manipur's Imphal East district in the morning. The chief minister presented him with a polo mallet and an artwork of the game.
(With Inputs From PTI)