No intention to scrap Article 371, Amit Shah assures Northeast

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Dispelling fears that Article 371 will be abrogated from Northeast after scrapping of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday assured that it will not happen and nobody has any intention to do it.

Most of the States that have special provisions under Article 371 are in the Northeast. These provisions are aimed at preserving their cultural heritage and customary laws.

Wide-spread apprehension evoked in Northeast after the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir by the NDA-II government at the Centre.

“Misinformation spread after abrogation of Article 370 that Article 371 will also be scrapped… It will never happen and nobody can do it,” Shah said while addressing a public rally at Indira Gandhi Park here on the occasion of 34th Statehood Day celebration.

The Union Home Minister categorically said that the NDA Government is committed to preserve and protect the unique culture and tradition of Northeast inhabited by various ethnic tribes and communities.

He also said that till 2014, NE was only geographically united with rest of India but the real integration started after the NDA Government came to power.

“Previously the region used to get the due importance on political line but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the trend and efforts initiated to unite NE with rest of the country,” he said, adding that “more than 200 times Central Ministers visited the region and even the PM himself visited for 30 times in the past five years.”

Shah added that the Northeast enjoys a special place in the country for its unique culture and traditions; and unless the region is developed, no cultural integration is possible in the country.

“The Modi Government wants the whole of NE to be free of problems including militancy, inter-State conflicts over boundaries, law and order, drug menace and the bandh culture. When we seek votes in 2024, the Northeast will have been free from all problems,” he asserted, and added that the Centre has already started the process in this direction to curb militancy and inter-State conflicts.

“The Government has already started negotiations with various militant organizations to restore peace in the region and recently inked the Bodo Peace Accord,” he said with conviction.

Shah added that the Centre’s concern for NE’s development is evident from the enhancement in Budget provision to the tune of Rs 3, 13, 375 crore, instead of the paltry amount of Rs 83,000 crore in the past.

“Under the North East Council (NEC), a total of 474 new projects have been sanctioned for the region besides national Highway projects worth 32,000 crore. By 2024, all the States of the region will be connected by airports,” he disclosed.

Referring to Arunachal Pradesh, the Union Home Minister informed that the NDA Government after coming to power had sanctioned road projects to the State worth 50, 000 crore within a span of five years, superseding the record of the past 25 years when the State received projects worth Rs 45,000 crore only.

“The NDA Government has taken up the ambitious Arunachal Frontier Highway covering a total distance of 2000 kilometers besides, undertaking survey works of three new railway lines in the State. Moreover, plan for establishment of an IIT in the State with project cost of Rs 400 crore is on the pipeline,” the Union Home Minister added.

Lauding Chief Minister Pema Khandu for his developmental initiatives and war against corruption, Shah said that the young Chief Minister has been taking forward the dream of Prime Minister Modi for an emerging new India.

“A development roadmap for Arunachal Pradesh has been prepared by the Modi Government,” Shah added.

The Union Home Minister also appreciated the patriotic nature of the people of the State saying that only in Arunachal, people used to greet each other with ‘Jai Hind’. “In the entire country, nobody can exhibit patriotism like the people of Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.

Launching the Arunachal Pradesh Industrial and Investment Policy on the occasion, Shah said that the policy would provide an impetus to Modi’s five trillion economic target.

The Union Home Minister also inaugurated from the venue, the MLA apartments at Chimpu, near here, besides inaugurating senior officers’ housing project, façade lighting of civil secretariat, 256 Slice CT scanner at Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS), inter-state truck terminal and Joram-Kolorian two-lane road being executed by the BRO in Lower Subansiri district.

Shah also laid the foundation stone of police headquarters and flag off 148 sanitation vehicles for all urban towns of the State.

Union Minister of State for DoNER Dr Jitendra Singh and MoS Sports Kiren Rijiju accompanied Shah.

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