NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday to attend the 34th Statehood Day function at Itanagar on February 20 and launch projects related to industry and roads, government officials said on Tuesday. This will be the home minister’s first visit to a Northeastern state following the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act which has led to countrywide protests.
Shah will also lay the foundation stone of the new headquarters of the Arunachal Pradesh Police, home ministry officials said.
Shah will launch the Arunachal Pradesh Industrial and Investment Policy, 2020 and inaugurate the Joram Koloriang Road being constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), an official said. Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, is also expected to attend the Statehood Day function. Arunachal Pradesh became a full-fledged state on February 20, 1987. Till 1972, it was known as the North East Frontier Agency. It gained the Union Territory status on January 20, 1972 and was renamed as Arunachal Pradesh. Shah had cancelled his visit to Meghalaya and Arunachal on December 15 in the wake of the violent anti-CAA protests in N-E.