Timely-intervention improved Manipur situation: PM Modi

Asked about the flak the Union government received for the handling of the Manipur crisis, the PM said, “It is our collective responsibility to deal with the situation sensitively. We have dedicated our best resources and administrative machinery to resolving the conflict. Because of the timely intervention of the Government of India and efforts made by the Government of Manipur, there has been a marked improvement in the situation of the state.”

India has started fencing the Indo-Myanmar Border: PM Modi

Blaming “internal developments in Myanmar” for the influx of illegal immigrants in Mizoram, the Prime Minister said, “We have been raising this issue with the Myanmar authorities as this directly impacts India, particularly our Northeastern states. We want to see peace and stability return to Myanmar at the earliest so that these people can return to their home country peacefully.”

He also shared the measures being taken to secure the borders, including scrapping the Free Movement Regime between India and Myanmar, increased and effective deployment of Border Guarding Forces on the Indo-Myanmar border, coordination among security agencies, construction of fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border. He also said that the Mizoram government has been told to collect biometric data of illegal migrants.

On the insurgent groups in Assam, he acknowledged “a long history of insurgencies, infiltration and institutional neglect. Yes, we decided to deal with insurgency firmly but at the same time, we ensured that common people are embraced with great care and compassion. Eleven peace agreements have been signed in the last 10 years. This is unprecedented progress unseen under any previous government. Compared to 2014, there has been a 71 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents in 2023. Similarly, in this period, security force casualties have come down by 60 per cent and civilian deaths by 82 per cent,” he said, adding, “Due to the improved security situation, the AFSPA has been withdrawn from most parts of the Northeast. We have successfully negotiated Border Dispute Settlement Agreements between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which has put an end to the longstanding dispute concerning 123 villages along the border. We have resolved the 50-year-old dispute between Assam and Meghalaya.”

‘Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of Bharat’

Asked whether Arunachal Pradesh was safe, given China’s territorial claims, the PM asserted that “Arunachal Pradesh is, was and shall always be an integral part of Bharat.”

Dwelling on the developmental work done in the region, the PM said, “Last month, I visited Itanagar for Viksit Bharat, Viksit North East programme. I had the privilege to unveil Rs 55,000 crore worth of development projects that are providing guarantees for Viksit North East. Around 35,000 families in Arunachal Pradesh got their pucca houses, and 45,000 households benefited from the drinking water supply project. I inaugurated the Sela Tunnel which is a real strategic game-changer providing all-weather connectivity to Tawang. In 2022, we inaugurated the Donyi Polo Airport for enhanced air linkages to the rest of the nation. On the energy front, the Dibang Multipurpose Project will contribute to employment, energy and water resource management. We have commenced new road projects for about 125 villages and tourism and other infrastructure-related projects in 150 villages. The government has also launched a Rs 10,000 crore UNNATI scheme that will bring new possibilities for investment and jobs in the North Eastern Region.”

‘BJP replaced the policy of isolation with integration’

On his government’s performance in the Northeast over the last 10 years, Modi said he had visited the region over 70 times, “probably more than the total number of visits made by all the Prime Ministers before me. For decades after Independence, the Northeastern states were relegated to the margins. Successive Congress governments gave step-motherly treatment to the people of the Northeast. We replaced the policy of isolation and ignorance with a policy of integration. In the last 10 years, it is visible how we have ended the Northeast’s isolation and developed it as Bharat’s gateway to the East.”

Underscoring Northeast India’s transformation, he cited milestones like Meghalaya’s inclusion in the rail network after 67 years of independence and Nagaland’s second railway station in a century, the inauguration of Sikkim’s first airport, operationalisation of five waterways, accompanied by expanded mobile and internet connectivity. He said that with over Rs 5 lakh crore invested in the region, the government’s focus on development aligned with its Act East Policy, strengthening ties with Southeast Asia through strategic projects such as India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project.

The PM called Northeast New India’s greatest success story.