'Progress in last decade bridged gap between Delhi, Northeast': PM Modi

Inaugurating the Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav to celebrate the vibrancy of the Northeast, Modi said the progress of the region was not given much emphasis under the previous governments due to fewer population and votes in those states.
PM Narendra Modi being felicitated by a child during the ‘Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav’ at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday.
PM Narendra Modi being felicitated by a child during the ‘Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav’ at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday.(Photo | PTI)
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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said efforts have been made over the last decade to bridge the emotional and developmental gap between Delhi and the Northeast, emphasising the importance of bringing the region closer to the nation’s heart.

Inaugurating the Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav here to celebrate the vibrancy of the Northeast, Modi said the progress of the region was not given much emphasis under the previous governments due to fewer population and votes in those states.

He said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was the first to create a dedicated ministry for the region and also earmarked 20 per cent budget of every ministry for its development.

Describing the event as a significant step toward new avenues for progress across the northeastern states, Modi said the region is now getting opportunities for every section.

The PM said that during the last decade, his government tried to reduce the feeling among people about the gap of Delhi and ‘Dil’ with the Northeast. Union ministers made 700 visits to the Northeast in the last decade and the government was connecting the region with the “trinity of emotion, economy and ecology,” he said.

“In the last decade, we have seen a wonderful journey of the development of the Northeast but it was not easy. We have taken every possible step to connect the northeastern states with India’s growth story,” he said.

“For a long time, we have seen how development was weighed against votes. Northeastern states had fewer votes and seats, so previous governments did not pay attention to the development of the region,” he said.

Modi said he believes the coming days are of eastern India and the Northeast. Like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru, cities of the region such as Guwahati, Shillong, Imphal, Itanagar and Aizawl will be new beacons of growth, the PM said.

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