AGARTALA:
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led Congress government for neglecting the Northeast during its tenure, and claimed that development in the region happened only after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power.
Addressing a press conference at the state BJP office in Agartala, on February 15, he said, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire Northeast is growing in all sectors. Prior to 2014, the region was neglected by the then Congress government.” Sonowal stressed that the UPA government never considered Northeast in its development agenda.
Sonowal further advocated that under Modi’s tenure, various central leaders have taken the initiative to visit the eight states to identify areas that need development.
“PM has directed all the union ministers to ensure proper implementation of different central schemes in the region. It is Narendra Modi who described the Northeast as ‘Astha Lakshmi’ (eight manifestations of Goddess Lakshmi) of India because of its potentiality, possibilities, and prosperity,” Sonowal asserted.
Highlighting the ongoing projects and the future investments in Tripura, Sonowal said that these were neither realised nor materialised under the previous government.
“Tripura under the leadership of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has seen unprecedented growth. The state now has eight national highways, and six express trains now run from Agartala to different parts of the country,” he said.
Referring to the Union budget 2022, he said that budgetary allocation for the Northeast has increased by 11.1 per cent, which according to Sonowal, is more than what was allocated earlier.