Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that the northeast has emerged as the growth engine of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The senior BJP leader said PM Modi considers the northeast as the focal point for the nation’s development and has visited the region “30 times in the last six years and each time, he has come with some gifts”.
Speaking at an event to launch various projects in Kamrup, Shah said Assam has embarked on a journey of peace and development under Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“Assam was earlier known for agitations and violence, but Sonowal and Sarma have unified the people of the state and the region with the rest of the country by upholding and promoting heritage and traditions,” he said.
On the Bodoland Territorial Region agreement, Shah said, “By signing the Bodoland Territorial Region agreement, the Modi govt has initiated the process of establishing peace in Assam. Bodo youths who had taken up arms have now joined the mainstream.”
Shah said NDA’s triumph in the just-concluded Bodoland Territorial Council polls was like a semifinal before the assembly elections in which it will emerge winners with a huge majority.
The home minister said all militant organisations in the state have surrendered and returned to the mainstream.
On development in the state, Shah said, “What is the way forward? Development is the only way forward. Development is happening & will happen further but ideological change is also needed & that can’t happen only through development.”
On Assamese culture and arts, he said, “BJP believes that India can not achieve greatness until the culture and language of states are strengthened. India’s culture and arts are incomplete without Assamese culture and arts.”
The Union Home Minister also urged farmers agitating against the new agriculture laws to resolve their issues through discussions.
