‘20 peace accords signed, 9,000 militants surrendered in 10 years’
Agartala, Dec 22: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the time has come for a change in approach of the police force with the end of insurgency in the North East, in order to ensure that people get speedy justice.
Shah, addressing the 72nd plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here, said prime minister Narendra Modi has brought peace in the region by inking 20 peace accords in 10 years, leading to the surrender of 9,000 armed militants.
“The police fought insurgency in the northeast for the past four decades. As insurgency has now ended, we need to change the approach of the force to ensure people get justice within three years of lodging FIRs,” he said.
The home minister also said connectivity is no longer a problem in the region, as the Centre has spent Rs 81,000 crore for rail connectivity and Rs 41,000 crore for road network in the North Eastern states.
Asserting that PM Modi expedited development activities in the northeast, Shah said Union ministers “spent 700 nights” in states of the region since the BJP-led NDA assumed power at the Centre.
“After the exchange of enclaves (land boundary agreements) with Bangladesh, the whole world will open for the northeast. This will change the investment ecosystem in the region,” he said.
The senior BJP leader also laid emphasis on the uplift of people in rural areas by promoting vegetable cultivation, production of milk, eggs and meat.
“Only a hike in the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) is not enough for overall development. There is a need to attain self-sufficiency in vegetables, milk, eggs and meat,” he said.
Besides, the central government has been focusing on organic cultivation in the region, said Shah.
“The Centre has already constituted the National Organic Corporation Ltd to boost the sector. I urge all the CMs (in the northeast) to sign agreements with NOCL for packaging, marketing and exporting of organic products,” he said.
The home minister, however, said more efforts were needed to tackle narcotics smuggling in the region.
Earlier in the day, Shah inaugurated the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) at Prajna Bhavan here.
Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with governors, chief ministers of all the eight North Eastern states, and senior officials, were also present at the event.
The Council is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern region, consisting of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Separate banking guidelines for NE
Meanwhile, the union home minister asked the country’s banks to frame separate guidelines for the North East, saying the region’s development is a national responsibility.
Addressing a Bankers’ Conclave at Agartala on Saturday, he said the banks should try to devise proper policies so that the Northeast’s potentials could be explored properly.
“You have to frame separate guidelines, separate parameters for the Northeast. Don’t consider the Northeast as business opportunity. Development of the Northeast is a national responsibility,” he said.
The home minister asked Secretary Banking in the Ministry of Finance, NABARD and SBI to work on it so that a robust banking parameters are framed for the Northeast.
He said that the North East has lot of potential which has to be explored so that it becomes part of India’s development journey.
“North East is the most lucrative destination in India for business now; you have to take risk, have to prepare good package,” he said. (PTI)
