|HT|
Days after the Centre reduced the disturbed areas under the ambit of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur after decades, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that now the North-east has become part of the mainstream. And the chapter where the rest of the country used to treat the Northeast as a stepchild is over. Applauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a press conference on Saturday, Rijiju said, “After Narendra Modi became the prime minister, the manner in which importance has been given to the Northeast to take it forward and the manner in which the ‘Look East’ was turned into ‘Act East’ and action began has resulted in the Northeast entering into a transformational mode.”
He added that the Northeast is developing at such a fast pace that in the near future; it is going to be an important economic hub.
Rijiju described the recent decision to withdraw AFSPA from major areas of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur as a “revolutionary decision”. “When AFSPA is withdrawn, it means that peace has returned to that area. Still, some areas are left, in those areas, the situation will be handled and soon the entire Northeast will be free of AFSPA, in accordance with Prime Minister Modi’s vision,” he added. He also thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for executing the prime minister’s vision well in the Northeast. “Within the Northeast, peace prevails across all the seven states. Earlier, people used to ask me if the Northeast was safe to travel to, now I want to tell them that it is a safe region and there is no violence in the northeast region,” he added.
The Law Minister said that it is the responsibility of the Northeastern states now to effectively utilise the economic support provided by the Central government and make sure it benefits the people of the northeast.
Rijiju said that the development that the Northeast has seen under the leadership of Modi is “historic”. He added that this moment of peace is not just for the Northeast but also for the entire country. The minister urged people to visit the Northeast and invest in the economy of the region. “Peaceful and beautiful north-eastern region awaits the people of the country under the leadership of Modi ji,” he added.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)