SHILLONG: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's efforts in facilitating peace across the North-East region and said that under the leadership of PM Modi, the North-East has gone ahead on the path of development.
Participating in the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong, the Home Minister said, "Under PM Modi, the North-East has gone ahead on the path of development. Peace has prevailed in the region".
He added, "Earlier, a lot of demands were made to repeal Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). Now, nobody needs to make demands. Staying two steps ahead, the government is taking initiatives to repeal AFSPA.
"Today, 60 per cent of Assam is AFSPA-free. 15 police station limits in six districts of Manipur are now AFSPA-free. In Arunachal Pradesh, only one district remains covered by AFSPA. In Nagaland, it has been lifted from 7 districts and in Tripura and Meghalaya, AFSPA has been completely lifted", Shah added.
All the Chief Ministers of the Northeastern states were present on the occasion.
The NEC was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972. The NEC has played a key role in the socio-economic development of the Northeastern region and has lent support to various infrastructure projects and other development initiatives across all states of the region. It has helped create valuable capital and social infrastructure, especially in critical gap areas of sectors including education, health, sports, water resources, agriculture, tourism, and industry, among others. The NEC is under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region (MDoNER). (ANI)
Also Watch: