AGARTALA/SHILLONG/NEW DELHI, 21 Jan: Congratulating the three northeastern states of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya on their 50th statehood day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that improvements in connectivity and infrastructure had pivoted the states into connectivity hubs, well placed for fast-paced development.
In separate video messages to the three states, Modi described them as lands of opportunities and a hub for trade connectivity, stressing on the common theme of connectivity and development.
He also said that the “double engine government” (where the same party is ruling at the Centre and the state) has ensured “journey towards fast-paced development. Obstacles that existed have been removed.”
All three states have either a BJP government or a BJP-backed government.
While the two principalities of Manipur and Tripura merged with India soon after independence and became union territories, Meghalaya was carved out of two districts of Assam into an ‘autonomous state within the state of Assam’ in 1969.
All three states were given full statehood through the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971 on this day, 50 years back in 1972.
In his message to Tripura, Modi said that, despite difficulties in connectivity in earlier decades, it is turning into “a land of opportunities and a hub for trade connectivity.”
“The double engine government at the Centre and the state have fulfilled the long pending demand of Tripura by gaining access to the Chittagong sea port in Bangladesh,” the prime minister said, adding that the state received the first cargo from Bangladesh through the Akhaura integrated check post in 2020.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also spoke on the occasion through a videoconferencing link, said the plan for Tripura’s development over the next 25 years has been laid out in a vision document called `Lakshya Tripura’.
Shah also said there was a time when the Northeast was known for corruption but now the funds sent from Delhi are fully utilized for the development in the region.
Shah said that the state, which has the potential to be the gateway of the Northeast, is now being connected with the rest of the country by the Agartala-Akhaura railways. The 15-km-long Agartala-Akhaura rail would connect the northeastern railway tracks with Bangladesh Railways to reach to Kolkata.
In another video message to Meghalaya, the prime minister also spoke of his commitment to improving connectivity to the mountainous state, nestled between Assam and Bangladesh.
He also lauded Meghalaya for being among the first states to use drones for the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.
“Centre is committed to the improvement of road, rail and air connectivity in Meghalaya. I assure people of the state of my continued support and determination to develop more sectors apart from tourism and organic agricultural produce. Measures have been taken to ensure new domestic and global markets for the state’s organic produce,” Modi said.
“Meghalaya has given the world a message of conservation of nature and eco-sustainability,” he said.
The prime minister said that the state has enormous talent in the fields of arts, music and sports, and lauded the Shillong Chamber Choir, whose founder and noted music composer Neil Nongkynrih died in Mumbai earlier this month.
In a third separate message to Manipur, which will be going to the polls to elect a new state assembly, Modi asserted on Friday that impediments to Manipur’s progress have been removed and it is now primed for fast-paced development.
He asked the state’s people not to allow “the forces that halted its progress… (be) allowed to rear their heads” again.
Modi said Manipur deserves peace and also deserves to be rid of frequent bandhs and blockades, and added that it has been achieved under the leadership of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
The BJP is in power in the state where the assembly polls will be held on 27 February and 3 March. “Manipur stands at a crucial juncture after 50 years (of statehood). It has started journey towards fast development. Obstacles that existed have been removed. We don’t have to look back from here,” Modi said.
The prime minister said that, under the ‘double-engine’ of development, Manipur is getting long awaited facilities like railways. “People of the state had to wait for 50 years for a passenger train,” he pointed out.
BJP leaders use the term “double engine” to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state. While the Congress dominated politics in Manipur for much of the time since its foundation, the BJP rose to power there for the first time in 2017 and is now looking to retain it.
Connectivity projects worth thousands of crores of rupees are underway in the state, including the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line. Similarly, with the Imphal airport getting international status, connectivity of the northeastern states with Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru has improved.
Manipur will also benefit from the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and the upcoming Rs 9,000 crore natural gas pipeline in the region, the prime minister said.
The prime minister also said that the government is committed to making Manipur the sports powerhouse of the country, and it has a key role in the vision of making the Northeast the centre of its Act East policy. The state has got the country’s first national sports university, he noted, lauding the sporting abilities of its youngsters. (PTI)
