GUWAHATI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the northeastern States witnessed the most significant phase of development during the past 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His assertion while chairing the plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC), the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the eight-State region, in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong coincided with a protest by members of a youth organisation that slammed the Centre for ignoring the key issues of the State.
The members of the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) resented the Centre’s delay in implementing the inner-line permit (ILP) system in Meghalaya and including the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. They released black balloons to mark their protest.
The ILP, issued under a British-era regulation, is a temporary travel document issued by the government to allow inward travel of Indian citizens into a protected area for a limited period. It is in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
“Manipur got ILP in a matter of few months but we have been denied despite demanding it for many years. Does the Centre not consider Meghalaya as a part of India?” HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem told journalists in Shillong.
The ILP demand in Meghalaya is based on the fear that the State’s indigenous communities would be outnumbered by “illegal immigrants” one day. The temporary travel document is viewed as insurance against influx.
The 60-member Meghalaya Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in December 2019 to urge the Centre to implement the ILP in the State.
While the protestors tried to “send a message to the Centre through” Mr. Shah outside the venue of the NEC plenary session, the Union Home Minister claimed that the last 10 years under Mr. Modi have been the most significant for the development of the Northeast in the 75 years since India’s Independence.
Apart from the geographical distance, New Delhi bridged the psychological and emotional gap with the region during this phase, he said. He also claimed the Northeast experienced an era of peace during this phase after struggling with various ethnic, linguistic, border and extremism-related problems for decades.
“During the time of Atalji [former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee], a separate Ministry was created for the Northeast and today, the three mantras of Act East, Act Fast, and Act First are being implemented. Impetus is being given to the Northeast by giving priority to it in all the Ministries of the Government of India,” Mr. Shah said.
On Thursday, he inaugurated a Cyber Security Operations Centre at the Assam Rifles headquarters in Shillong.
