North-East Has Seen a New Dawn of Peace and Development Under Modi Regime: Assam CM

Bhubaneswar: The North East has seen a new dawn of peace and development under the Narendra Modi government. Decades of bloodshed in Assam and some other north-eastern states has subsided and massive transformation has taken place in the region, Now, the part of the country is ready to play a pioneering role in the nation’s development by becoming the gateway to Southeast Asia, said Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday.

Sharing his views here at a conclave on the topic, ‘Reaching The Last Mile: Developing The Rest of India,’ Sarma said agitations, violence and killings had become the words of the past and people were now talking of progress only.

“I’m 54 now and very soon I will turn 55. My first childhood memory in Assam is about agitation and social encounters - how to stage demonstrations, do picketing and block Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). I did not go to school for two years as it was closed. From democratic agitation, it took a violent turn. The people who had not slapped anyone before, had AK 47 in their hands. Our vocabulary included names like AK 47, 9 MM and Chinese-made weapons. We lost around 700 security personnel and casualties of thousands of civilians. The discourse continued and tribal militancy started in Assam. The same story continued in neighbouring states like Manipur and Nagaland,” the CM said, adding, the words had now become things of the past.

Underlining some key infrastructure projects, including airports, roads and bridges as well as industrial units, that North East got after the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, Sarma said Assam and other north-eastern states were no longer seen as frontier provinces but as gateways for foreign trade and commerce activities.

“Now, If India wants to do business with Southeast Asia, Assam and North East will be the first point. It will not be considered as the last point,” he observed.

Stating that the present generation of Assam had forgotten what the terms such 'agitation' and 'violence' meant, the CM said the youths who once had arms in their hands had come to the mainstream.

“AIIMS came, Assam started registering growth at 17 per cent, refinery came up and talks are going on for semiconductor industry and it will come in the next couple of months. Gradually stadiums were built and national highway infrastructure of Rs 1 lakh crore was built up. Earlier, there was one road for the Indian Army to go up to the China border, it now has three roads.  The Tripura airport is three times bigger than the Bhubaneswar airport. Gradually, the picture and things have changed in the last 9 years. Nobody will believe that it is the same land where 70000 people died due to militancy,” said Sarma.