IMPHAL, April 18: There cannot be development in the Northeast region so long as Congress governments are in power in Northeast states said Amit Shah President BJP who is on a 3-day visit to the state.
Shah said this during a one day political conference for a new Manipur held at the Hao Ground Pushum Chunga ground.
He further said that the BJP`™s primary focus is on bringing development to the whole of India. As the Western side has already achieved a relatively a high level of development, thanks to changes brought about by BJP governments there, he said. However, the Eastern sector is still lagging behind in development, including in education, health, development, etc, he added.
During last 10 years of Congress rule in the country, the ambitious project of Look East Policy has remained only matter of looking east and nothing else, but after the NDA government came to power, it transformed this project to Act East Policy, with special focus on NE development. This is the pledge of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi Prime, and the BJP is determined to keep it, he said.
He further said that Manipur and NE people have the same rights as people of other states to access the wealth of India. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India, one of his primary focuses is to bring development in NE states and to lift up the region to be at par with any other region of India.
It is for this reason that the Prime Minister introduced the norm of having at least three union cabinet Ministers visit the Northeast region every 15 days.
The union ministers`™ tours are meant to monitor all the developmental work taken up in the NE regions through various scheme of the Central government, he said. The DoNER ministry, dedicated to developing the Northeast was constituted by the BJP during the tenure of Atul Bihari Vajpayee, he said.
It is very unfortunate that during the last 10 years under the Congress led UPA government in the Centre, all development packages have been misused and siphoned off. He said the BJP led NDA government in the Centre during the last year has overhauled the system, and has totally transformed the DoNER Ministry. It once functioned from Delhi, now it has been transferred to NE region, he added.
Officers from the states had to rush to Delhi for DoNER related schemes, now the Secretary DoNER has round to make a visit to each North East State to look into various project and extend schemes of DoNER to the states.
Similarly, the North East Council has also started holding meetings at the NE region at Shillong after 10 years of Congress government. Under Narendra Modi`™s guidance BJP government has initiated for the installation of North Eastern Students Boys and Girl Hostels at all major mainland Indian cities.
To accelerate economic development of the NE, and for easier livelihoods of the people, the BJP government is looking to open up economic corridors with neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Bhutan, he said.
The NE states, and in particular Manipur has beautiful unique cultural heritage. Towards giving these heritages exposures the BJP organised a festival of songs and dances of NE at New Delhi in April in which the every state performed. Another NE Utsav in Delhi is also being planned soon, he said.
The NDA government has sanctioned Rs. 200 crores for development of road connectivity in Northeast region. Another Rs. 100 crores for establishment of National Sport University in Manipur during last one years of NDA government, said Amit Shah.
The sport university is for Northeast youths, who have tremendous talent and spirit for sports in every discipline, he said. The NE sportspersons can bring gold medals in the Olympics, just as Mary Kom has shown the way. Now her students can focus on bringing back more gold medal from the Olympics, he said.
A Thermal Power plan is going to be set up in the Northeast to remove the problem of power in the states. There is a fund of Rs. 11,000 crores under NLCPR, and another Rs. 825 crores in NCR for NE development but all these funds have not brought development in the NE region because the Congress ruled in the NE states, he claimed.
The NE people have to also shoulder their responsibility for bringing development and corruption free government in their states, he said.
`You have to root out the Congress government and join the BJP` he appealed.
Among nine Congress governments today, five are in the NE he said. If the funds for the Northeast development in the last 10 years had been used as they were supposed to be, the problem of poverty in the Northeast might have been removed already, he said.
He also charged that in Manipur, the present government does not like the Hills peoples and areas to develop. Various schemes meant for the hill districts have not reached the target areas, he charged.
The ADC election is just one month left and if the BJP can secure all the 144 ADCs, he said as the national president of the BJP, he will take it upon himself to bring corruption free governance and therefore development to the region.
He also said if the BJP comes to power in the state after the 2017 election, the state will turn into a favoured tourist destination in India.
National General Secretary Organisation Ramlal, Tapir Gao BJP Natioanl executive, Th Chaoba President BJP Manipur Pradesh, General Secretary Asnikumar, Basanta, Premananda and other BJP leaders also took part in the political conference.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/04/as-long-as-corrupt-governments-rule-in-ne-states-no-development-or-change-will-come-about-amit-shah/
