In his message during Arunachal Pradesh’ Statehood Day celebration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the Centre is working to make Arunachal Pradesh a major gateway to South East Asia. In a video message to the people of the state on the 36th Statehood Day, Modi said that modern infrastructure is being constructed in Arunachal, considering its importance from the national security perspective. Modi’s claim sound somewhat exaggerated. In the last eight years, the BJP has not really brought in any new major developmental projects to the state. Most of the projects that are being executed currently were sanctioned during the UPA era.
Even the UPA-era sanctioned projects like the Hollongi greenfield airport and the Trans-Arunachal Highway projects are yet to be completed. The claim of PM Modi of building modern infrastructure in the state is a surprise for everyone in the state. The BJP, especially union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, had promised two major infrastructure projects – frontier highways to connect border villages and the east-west corridor to connect the foothill areas of the state. Both these projects still remain only in the media. These are projects that the BJP should take up in the state if they truly want to develop Arunachal as a gateway to Southeast Asia. Otherwise, their claims will be considered hollow. PM Modi should push for these major infrastructure projects if he is indeed serious about developing Arunachal.