PM Modi’s Focus on North East Has Nothing to Do With Electoral Politics, Says Assam CM Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on the Northeast during his nine-year tenure and prioritizing the region had nothing to do with electoral politics.

Sarma, while interacting with senior journalists, said that the sector has witnessed unprecedented development, where massive investment has taken place under Modi’s leadership.

Speaking at an interaction to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi-led BJP-led government at the Centre, Sarma said the Prime Minister’s connection with the Northeast is emotional and he has called the region ‘Ashta Lakshmi’.

There are eight states in this region including Sikkim.

“It’s the best of times for the North East. If we engage constructively with the central government, all states will march ahead in growth and development’, said the Chief Minister.

“As far as electoral politics is concerned, the North East is not very attractive as many states have only one or two MPs. But there is an emotional connect with the Prime Minister which has led to huge capital investment in the sector,” Sarma said.

Prior to 2014, major capital investments were not made in the region, but Modi realized that its development would not be possible without connectivity. He said that massive expenditure has been made to ensure connectivity – in the field of infrastructural development for proper transport and communication network, digital penetration in remote and far-flung areas, banking sector and economic boom in the region among other sectors. To be sure, he said.

Sarma said that the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the North Eastern Region (PM-DEVINE), announced as part of the Union Budget 2022-23, aims at rapid and holistic development of the region by funding projects with significant impact.

“It is not just about development projects and investment in the region. Modi ji has given an identity to the North East and its people, which was beyond our expectations”, said the Chief Minister.

Sarma said the discrimination that the people of the North East used to face earlier has reduced considerably due to the outreach efforts of the Prime Minister to ensure that the people of the region live in peace in other parts of the country.

“Students, youth and people of the region living in other parts of the country now know all the local politicians of the states where they live. It is politicians who reach out to him because Modi ji has made it clear that he should live in peace and not face any trouble in whatever state he lives in,” he said.

Sarma said meeting the Prime Minister is no longer a “complicated task” unlike in the past. He said, “I was in Delhi during the last three days and met them on all days. It is not only for me but for all the chief ministers of the North East”.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav made a powerpoint presentation on the achievements of the BJP government during the last nine years. Earlier in the day, Modi virtually flagged off the North East’s first Vande Bharat Express from Guwahati to New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,