Guwahati, Sep 9: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear that if at all the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is ever implemented, it would have no bearing on the Northeast states which enjoy special provisions under the Indian Constitution. This announcement comes immediately after the day he reiterated that Article 371 will never be revoked in the Northeast. 
Shah gave this assurance while speaking at the 4th Convention of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) here today. BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never disturb any of the special provisions enjoyed by most of the states in the region, he said. “We understand the confusion and questions raised by a few section of the society regarding CAB. Let me assure that if ever it happens, we will have extensive consultations with all stakeholders and see that all prevalent acts and laws safeguarding the geographical as well as cultural integrity of these states remain intact,” Home Minister added. He said that as Article 371 under which the special provisions are granted will remain, there is no question of any influx of outsiders. He further assured that Centre will not allow any illegal immigrant to settle in any of the states in the region in the backdrop of the NRC exercise in Assam. 
Complimenting the NEDA for running governments in all the eight Northeast states, Shah attributed it to the good governance and special care of the Modi government in the last five years. He said, Congress which ruled the region for decades failed to meet people’s expectations and therefore was shown the door.

“Hallmark of Congress was corruption while BJP from day one took up the cudgels to root out corruption and here’s the result. Out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast, 19 MPs were elected from either BJP or a NEDA constituent,” Shah pointed. Squarely blaming the Congress for under-development of the region, Shah claimed that development of NE was never in Congress’s agenda. “Today all the North-Eastern states are united as one under the umbrella of NEDA and this platform can become the game-changer for the region. All pending issues can be resolved amicably and an united effort can be made for development of each state,” he said. As all the states are now related to each other, courtesy NEDA, Shah called for resolving inter-state boundary disputes amicably through dialogues. “When we could resolve boundary issue with Bangladesh, why can’t states of the Northeast resolve their inter-state boundary disputes? We are not different countries. We are states of the same country and members of NEDA. It is the right platform and right time to resolve all such pending issues for Northeast to develop as a whole,” he added.
While suggesting the states make a concerted efforts to boost tourism instead of making state-specific plans and policies, the Union Home Minister advised that Chief Ministers or Tourism Ministers of all the states should come together and make a comprehensive Northeast Tourism Package that would serve the region on a platter to the world outside, instead of showcasing separately. Pointing out that flood protection and hydropower are subjects not exclusive to any one state, he advised all states to come together to work out a comprehensive region-specific plan this regard.
Echoing Shah, Chief Minister Pema Khandu in his brief speech said that inter-state boundary issue has been pending for long which is hampering development in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh that share a very long boundary with Assam. MoS Sports & Youth Affairs (Independent) Kiren Rijiju, MoS FPI Rameswar Teli, all MPs of NEDA, Ministers and MLAs from states, regional party offices bearers and BJP leaders also attended the meeting.
Chief Ministers of all Northeast states spoke on the occasion besides the DoNER Minister and Heads of the regional parties that are members of NEDA. It was resolved that leaders of all the states would meet often to consult, coordinate and work together in matters that concern the entire region. CMO

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List