Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Shillong on Sunday morning, attended the golden jubilee celebrations of Northeastern Council at the State Convention Centre here, along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other ministers and dignitaries.
Modi, on the occasion, released 'Golden Footprints', a commemorative volume chronicling NEC’s contribution towards the development of the northeast over the last 50 years, according to an official statement.
A short film on NEC's journey of 50 years was also screened on the occasion, the statement said.
Apart from the PM, Shah and G Kishan Reddy, the Union minister for culture, tourism and development of north-eastern region (DoNER), addressed the session.
PM Modi said his government during its eight-year tenure has removed all obstacles that came in the way of development of the northeast region.
He also said that improved air connectivity provided to the region has been helping export of agricultural produce, benefiting farmers.
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar, Modi also said that the NDA "government has shown the red card to many obstacles that came in the way of development for the North East.
“Obstacles such as corruption, discrimination, violence and vote bank politics were removed,” the PM said in his 26-minute speech.
"Earlier, attempts were made to divide the northeast. Now, we are removing these divisions,” Modi said at the meeting.
He also inaugurated, dedicated and laid the foundation stone for multiple projects.
Among the projects inaugurated, one is the sprawling campus of the IIM-Shillong at the New Shillong Township.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Narendra Modi government has established peace in the northeast, which was once a militancy-affected region.
Shah said the Prime Minister visited the region over 50 times during the past eight years and laid out the roadmap for the region's progress.
“Northeast was known for violence and separatism but during the last eight years, rebellious incidents have come down by 70 percent. Attacks on security personnel have also been reduced by 60 percent while civil casualties have come down to 89 percent,” he said.
The PM, who is also set to visit Tripura later in the day, will be inaugurating and laying foundation stones of projects worth more than Rs 6,800 crore in the two northeastern states during the day.
Both the states are heading for assembly polls, which are likely to be held in February.
The NEC is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the northeastern region which comprises of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
First Published: Dec 18, 2022 12:27 PM IST
