ITANAGAR, Feb 15: Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Nabam Tuki has termed the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state “an utter disappointment.”
Tuki said the people of Arunachal were eagerly looking to the PM to announce a special developmental package for the state.
“This was his second visit to the state. With the BJP government both at the Centre and in the state, the expectation was massive. But his visit has not borne any fruit and disappointed every Arunachalee,” said Tuki.
He went on to compare Modi’s visit to that of former PM Manmohan Singh.
“Singh during his visit to Itanagar announced a special economic package, amounting to Rs 24,000 crore, to improve connectivity in the state, which includes construction of the Trans-Arunachal Highway, four-lane and two-lane roads, IT communication, infrastructure development projects, etc. We are now reaping the benefits of Singh’s visionary act with the construction of the TAH,” Tuki said.
He also said Modi should have spoken about burning issues concerning Arunachal, like the refugee problem, the interstate boundary issue, etc, which have been raised by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has also expressed disappointment over the prime minister’s address at IG Park on Thursday.
“The people of the state were waiting to hear from the prime minister about the five-decade-long vexed Chakma-Hajong issue, the Assam-Arunachal boundary dispute, and other important matters like loopholes in the Statehood Bill, the protracted Indo-Naga political issue, and revamping of the deteriorating education atmosphere in a central government-controlled education institute in the state in his almost hour-long deliberation. Unfortunately, none of the issues got a mention in his address,” the AAPSU stated in a release.
The union also criticized MoS for Home Kiren Rijiju and Chief Minister Pema Khandu for “not daring to speak up about the core issues of the state before the PM.”
