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Correcting Congress’s mistake of ignoring northeast for decades: PM Modi
The Prime Minister inaugurated a new airport terminal in Assam and hinted towards future projects in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of ignoring Assam and the northeast for decades when the party was in power in states of the region and in Centre.
“Congress governments ignored Assam and northeast for six to seven decades. Now I am correcting those mistakes,” Modi said while addressing a public meeting in Guwahati after inaugurating the new terminal of Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International (LGBI) airport.
Also read | PM Modi inaugurates new terminal building of Guwahati airport, largest in Northeast
“The developments of the past 11 years are an indicator that justice is being finally delivered to the people of Assam...Earlier during Congress rule people used to get government jobs only through recommendations or by paying bribes. But now the BJP government in the state is providing thousands of jobs based purely on merit,” he said.
Modi also accused the Congress of encouraging illegal immigration from Bangladesh into Assam and West Bengal with the aim of increasing the party’s vote bank. This, he said, led to changes in demography and large scale encroachments of government lands and forests, leading to threats to indigenous Assamese population.
Modi said that even the Supreme Court acknowledges the threats posed by illegal immigration and that’s the reason the Election Commission is conducting special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls--a move which the Congress has been opposing on the streets and in courts.
“That’s why people of Assam have to be careful in order to ensure safety and security of the state from such threats, against which people like Bardoloi made sacrifices. It is important that people of Assam remain united to foil such attempts by Congress,” he said.
Also read | Kopou phool columns, bamboo design: Inside India's first nature-themed airport terminal in Guwahati | Video
Outside the terminal, Modi unveiled a statue of former Assam chief minister, Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bardoloi, after whom the airport operated by Adani Airport Holdings Limited, is named. Modi recollected how Bardoloi’s efforts ensured that Assam didn’t become a part of Bangladesh after Independence.
Assam governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union ministers KR Naidu, Sarbananda Sonowal, Pabitra Margherita and others were present at the event.
“As one steps into this new airport terminal, one can see both development and tradition going hand in hand as it has been built keeping in mind Assam’s natural beauty and culture. There’s greenery inside the terminal so that people can get a sense of calm. Bamboo has been used extensively in the construction of this terminal,” Modi said.
Built at a cost of around ₹6,000 crores, portions of the new terminal (T2) has been designed with 140 metric tonne of bamboo and 57 columns shaped like the bouquets of foxtail orchid, the state flower of Assam. It will have a terminal area of 140,000 square metres, from the present 22,000 square metres.
The new terminal will be operated on a runway measuring 3,660 metres (from the existing 3,160 metres) making it one of the longest in the country. From the present capacity of 6.5 million passengers handled annually, the new terminal will be able to accommodate 13.1 million passengers per year with a peak hour capacity of 3,879 passengers, officials said.
“The report card of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in sectors of development and unemployment in Assam and northeast is very poor. Several of government run industries have been shut down over the past years. Take the examples are the paper mills in Jagiroad and Cachar, which have shut down and led to loss of jobs. Even the semiconductor project in Jagiroad that is coming up has been constructed at the site of the shut paper mill. The government should have been able to operate the mills and set up the semiconductor project at some other site,” said Congress Assam president and the party’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi.
Modi will interact with over 200 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office-bearers, members of Parliament (MPs), ministers and MLAs on Saturday evening.
On Sunday, he will have a Pariksha Pe Charca discussion with 25 students during a cruise ride on a barge called Charaidew over the Brahmaputra and pay respects to the victims of the Assam Agitation against illegal infiltrators at Swahid Smarak Kshetra in Guwahati.
Later in the day, he will lay foundation stone of an ammonia-urea-fertiliser plant of Assam Valley Fertiliser and Chemicals Company at Namrup in Dibrugarh district. To be built at an estimated cost of ₹10,600 crore, the plant will help meet fertiliser requirements of Assam and neighbouring states and reduce import dependence.
