Article 371 would not be touched, assures Home Minister Amit Shah to people of Northeast

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (February 20) said that Article 371 of the Constitution will not be dismissed while addressing a gathering to mark the 34th foundation day of Arunachal Pradesh in Itanagar.  Amit Shah said, "Misinformation was spread after the abrogation of Article 370 that Article 371 will also be scrapped. It will never happen. Nobody has any such intention."

The Home Minister said the Northeast was only geographically united with the rest of India before 2014 when Narendra Modi assumed the office of the prime minister, adding "The real emotional integration of the region with the rest of the country happened only under the Modi government."

Underlining the prime minister's commitment to the development of the Northeast, he said, Narendra Modi visited the region 30 times in five years, six times a year. While only Rs 89,168 crore was allocated to the region by the 13th Finance Commission when the UPA was in power, it now has shot up to Rs 3,13,374 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission after the NDA assumed office, he added.

Referring to the problems of militancy and inter-state boundary disputes in the region, Amit Shah said, "The government has already started negotiations with various militant organisations to restore peace in the region. It recently inked the Bodo Peace Accord, besides resolving the Bru-Reang issue and ending the indefinite blockade in Manipur."

"When we come to seek your votes in 2024, the Northeast will have been free from problems like militancy and inter-state strife," he said.

Under the Northeast Council (NEC), a total of 474 new projects have been sanctioned for the region, apart from national highway projects worth 32,000 crores. By 2024, all state capitals in the region will have road and air connectivity, he said.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Shah claimed, only Rs 47,000 crore was spent on road construction in 25 years, while Rs 50,000 crore was expended in the last five years alone.

According to him, the NDA government has taken up the ambitious project of building the 2,000 KM Arunachal Frontier Highway, besides undertaking a survey of three new railway lines. The government also proposed to set up an IIT at an estimated cost of Rs 400 crore.

Praising Chief Minister Pema Khandu for giving a corruption-free and development-oriented government, he said, "The young chief minister is taking forward the dream of Prime Minister Modi of a New India".

He also appreciated the patriotic spirit of the people of Arunachal Pradesh that borders China, adding "In some places people great each other with 'namaste', in some others with 'Ram Ram'. In Gujarat, they say 'kem cho'. It is only in Arunachal that people greet each other with 'Jai Hind'." 

Amit Shah, who also unveiled Arunachal Pradesh Industrial and Investment Policy at the function, said the initiative will give added impetus to the prime minister's goal of turning India into a 5 trillion dollar economy.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the objections raised by China on Home Minister Amit Shah`s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. 

The MEA said, "It (Arunachal Pradesh) is an integral part of India. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state as they do to any other states of India. Objecting to visit of an Indian leader to any state in India does not stand to reason." 

During a weekly briefing in Delhi, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said this while responding to reports of China objecting to the Home Minister`s visit to the north-eastern state.