GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Centre had withdrawn the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from parts of the Northeast due to an improved law and order situation.
Addressing a rally in Assam’s Karbi Anglong after laying the foundation of some projects, he said old rules were being tweaked as peace was making a steady return to the Northeast as a result of the collective efforts of the state governments and the people.
“AFSPA remained enforced in many states of the Northeast for a long time. But due to good administration and the return of peace, we removed it from many areas. The incidents of violence have dropped by 75% in the last eight years in the region. This is the reason that we first removed AFSPA from Tripura and then Meghalaya,” Modi told the gathering.
He said AFSPA had been enforced in Assam for three decades but with the improvement in the overall security situation, it was removed from 23 districts.
“We are trying to normalise the situation in other areas too so that AFSPA can be removed. We are working at a faster pace in Nagaland and Manipur in this regard,” the PM said.
He highlighted how the Centre’s relentless efforts helped solve the problem of insurgency in Assam’s Bodo areas, Karbi Anglong and in Tripura and the Bru (Reang) problem of Tripura-Mizoram. He said similar efforts were being made for permanent peace in some other regions.
“During violence and unrest, the most affected are our mothers, sisters and children. Today, when I see the tears of happiness in the eyes of a mother after her son returns home from the jungle laying down weapons, I feel overwhelmed. The country can now see how the decades-old problem of violence and mistrust is being resolved. When there used to be a discussion on the region, sometimes people would hear the sound of bombs and sometimes of bullets. Today, we can hear the sound of clapping,” Modi said as people cheered.
He expressed happiness that Assam and Meghalaya governments were trying to resolve their boundary disputes. He believed their efforts would encourage the other states to follow suit.