Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress governments of keeping the Northeast away from both ‘Dhli’ (Delhi) and ‘Dhali’ (Hart) for many decades after Independence while unveiling projects worth $23,550 crore in Silchar town in Assam.
“They have forgotten the region in a way. But the dual engine government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has connected the region in a way that has created a buzz everywhere,” Modi added while addressing a public meeting in Silchar on the second day of his two-day visit to the poll-bound state.
Highlighting how the Barak Valley was an important trade route and industrial hub before independence, he said: “The North-East is the center of India’s East Policy and is the bridge between the country and the South-East Asian region. But like the rest of North-East Asia, the Congress had a major role in isolating the Barak Valley in Assam. They allowed the border to be drawn in this way during Independence which led to the region being cut off from the sea.”
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The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Shillong-Silchar Corridor, the first four-lane greenfield access-controlled high-speed corridor in Northeast India.
The corridor is 166 kilometers long, with investments of about $22,860 crore, will significantly improve connectivity between Meghalaya and Assam. The project will reduce the distance between Guwahati and Silchar and reduce the travel time from 8.5 hours to approximately 5 hours.
“This Silchar-Shillong access-controlled high-speed corridor, which will be the first of its kind in the North-East region (besides Assam and Meghalaya), will connect Silchar to Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura. Moreover, it will improve connectivity to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Southeast Asia,” he said.
He also performed Bhoomi Poojan for an elevated corridor on NH-306 from Trunk Road near Capital Point to Rangirkhari Point in Silchar (Phase-I), a project aimed at decongesting one of the busiest roads in Silchar, improving connectivity with neighboring states like Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur, and contributing to the economic development of the Barak Valley.
Modi accused the Congress of keeping the youth of Assam trapped in violence and terrorism. “The Congress party has been defeated in Assam and in several other states. In the near future, the party will achieve a century of electoral defeats. Now the Congress leaders are busy defaming the nation as they did in the recently concluded AI summit in Delhi by staging a protest by tearing their clothes,” he said.
“Such an anti-national party cannot do any good for the country or Assam. Our government is trying its best to ensure minimum inconvenience to the citizens due to the current war in the Middle East, but at such a time Congress is spreading rumors to create panic with the sole aim of targeting the BJP and me,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the new agricultural college at Patharkandi in Karimganj district.
