The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government has a strong commitment to all round development and lasting peace in the northeastern region, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah said on Saturday.
While addressing a public meeting at Amingaon Parade Ground in Guwahati, Shah said that the entire eastern India comprising Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and the northeastern states have turned into a growth engine for India. "If the northeast region is not developed, India's development would remain incomplete. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited all the states of the region 30 times so far and taken the developmental mission to new heights -- be it rail, road or air connectivity or setting up various other infrastructure," he added.
"There was a time when terrorists used to give arms into the hands of the youths in these states (northeast). Almost all armed groups have joined the mainstream and the youths have launched startups competing with other startups globally."
Laying the foundation stones of multiple developmental projects in the state, the Home Minister said that the NDA government headed by Modi would make Assam a tourism hub and has undertaken a series of steps and projects to provide "Rozgar" (employment) to lakhs of Assam youths.
In a significant step ahead of next year's Assam assembly polls, he gave financial grants to the tune of Rs 2.50 lakh to each of the 8,000 Namghars (traditional Vaishnavite monasteries of Assam) under the Assam Darshan Programme.
Referring to the contribution and significance of Assamese seer Srimanta Sankardev, Shah said that Assamese culture is Indian culture, the BJP government would take the philosophy of Srimanta Sankardev not only across the country but also abroad. Srimanta Sankardev was a 15th-16th century Assamese saint, scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of the state.