Modi tour will keep NDA focus on North-East
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming three-day tour of the North-East is an important follow-up to his campaign promise of developing the region and better integrating it with the rest of the country. Over the decades, many politicians have paid lip-service to this cause from New Delhi but few have taken any meaningful steps, on the ground, in the North-East.
This gap in policy-making and implementation has isolated the North-East from the rest of the country, and both continue to pay a heavy price for this. On the one hand, North-East has not developed well as it hasn’t been able to partake in the fruits of economic progress that the rest of the country has been enjoying; on the other hand, the rest of the country has missed many opportunities to benefit from the incredibly diverse and resource-rich region, be it in terms of lost tourism revenue or unharnessed energy sources. Now, the isolation of the North-East has also become a security issue for India. The region is no stranger to militancy internally but there is a growing external threat from state and non-state actors alike.
Against this backdrop, it is only natural that the Mr Modi's maiden tour to the region as Prime Minister focuses on the twin issues of development and security. Within the development sector, the Prime Minister is expected to draw attention to infrastructure development as well as commercial progress. Though his full itinerary, expected to cover four States (Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and possibly Tripura; Meghalaya will get its share of prime ministerial attention only through a video link), is yet to be finalised, the first leg of the tour has been firmed up.
In Guwahati, Mr Modi is scheduled to unveil a plaque for Mizoram's Bhairabi-Sairang rail line at the headquarters of the Northeast Frontier Railway. Notably, the project was announced in 2008 but is yet to take off. He will also remotely flag off the first train from Mendipathar in North Garo Hills of Meghalaya to Dudhnoi in Goalpara district of Assam. This is a historic train service as it puts Meghalaya on India's rail map for the first time since the State was established in 1972. Additionally, Mr Modi will also reiterate his Government's commitment to completing the rail link connecting the Tetelia-Byrnihat line and the Byrnihat-Shillong line.
From Assam, Mr Modi is expected to travel to Nagaland to inaugurate the annual Hornbill Festival in Kohima, and later to Manipur to inaugurate the Sangai festival in Imphal. Both festivals draw large number of tourists, and could do with more public attention. Mr Modi may also travel to Tripura to commission the second unit of the Palatana thermal power plant. But the Prime Minister's most important engagement will be the annual conference of police chiefs. The Chief Ministers of all North-Eastern States including Sikkim have also been invited to the conference, which, in a major symbolic gesture, is being held outside the national capital for the first time, since its inception in 1920.