DUDHNOI, Apr 18: Accusing the Congress of neglecting and isolating the North East, BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday said the integration of the region with the rest of the country has taken place under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing three back-to-back rallies for NDA candidates in Assam during the day, Nadda maintained that the “politics of appeasement by the Congress” has been replaced by “politics of performance and accountability by Modi.”
He claimed that the “character, definition and way of functioning of politics” has also changed in the country under Modi, who believes in pro-active and pro-responsive governance.
Nadda alleged that opposition parties are not bothered about people's welfare and are out to save themselves from being indicted in multiple scams.
Addressing a rally in Kokrajhar, the headquarters of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Nadda said peace has returned to the area due to the peace accords signed by the NDA government.
United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), an ally of the BJP-led coalition in the state, has fielded Jayanta Basumatary from the seat, where elections are due on May 7.
The BJP chief said, “Congress' policy was to keep North East in isolation and ignorance. It is the governments of Modi and Himanta Biswa Sarma which worked to connect the region with the rest of the country.”
“Ten years back when you visited Delhi, people asked which country you are from. But now integration is complete,” Nadda said in the tribal-dominated region.
Referring to the peace accords signed under the Modi regime, especially with Bodo militant outfits, the BJP chief claimed insurgent attacks and the number of civilian deaths have decreased drastically in the region over the last decade.
“This was the same Kokrajhar which was known for agitations, ethnic strife, bandhs, blasts, blockades, strikes. Kokrajhar had in a way become the hub of ‘andolon'. But under the leadership of Modi and Amit Shah, peace accords were signed,” Nadda said, referring to the Bodo peace pact of January 2020.
He said Rs 1,500 crore has been given by the Modi government under the peace accord.
On the initiatives for the North East, Nadda said, “The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been removed from 70 per cent of the region.”
“One has to remember the ‘bure din' (dark days) of the past to appreciate the present ‘acchhe din' (good times),” he maintained.
He said Rs 5 lakh-crore has been spent for the development of the region in the last five years, adding that the ‘Look East Policy' was changed to ‘Act East Policy' for “first and fast growth of the North East”.
