by Bhupen Goswami (PNI)

Guwahati : PM Modi addressed a public gathering at Changsari in Assam on Saturday, 9 February, saying that it would be marked as a historic day for progress and development in the Northeast.Assam to become oil and gas hub of country with projects worth Rs. 14,000 crore completed in last four years,” PM Modi said. “Earlier governments had made corruption be a state of normalcy… but we are uprooting this menace from society. The chowkidaar is cracking-down on the corrupt,” PM Modi said. “There are rumours being spread about the Citizenship bill.He praised Assam’s legacy, paying tribute to Bhupen Hazarika and Gopinath Bordoloi.

“I pay my tributes to Dr Bhupen Hazarika. He raised his voice for the deprived and the poor,” he said at the rally. Referring to the recently-delivered interim Budget, he said that the proposals in it showed the BJP government’s commitment to the Northeast. “We increased the Budget by more than 21 percent for the Northeast. This shows our commitment to it,” he said. He also spoke of the Assam Accord, saying, “I’m here to ensure that your 36-year-old demand of implementing the Assam Accord sees the light of the day.” Speaking about the Citizenship Bill, he said that it would not harm Assam and the Northeast, adding that citizenship would be granted after due probe and consideration of the state government’s recommendations. “Only after necessary investigation and recommendation of the state government can the decision of giving someone citizenship be taken. My government is fully committed to the interests of Assam,” he said. People who sit in AC rooms are spreading false rumours,” PM Modi said. “The NDA government is ready to fully protect the culture, resources and Northeast states’ language,” he added. “You all have seen in the past few years, how headlines in newspapers across the northeast have changed… now you all read and see development and progress all around you. Northeast and its fast-paced development and overall progress has been a top priority for my government,” PM Modi said.”I am happy to inform you that projects worth Rs. 14,000 crore have already been built and completed. And many more projects are currently being constructed. Just today, in Assam, we launched the construction of a bridge across the Brahmaputra river which will reduce the travel time between east and west Guwahati from over an hour to a mere 15 minutes.

Not just that, gas pipelines and a hydroelectric plant have also been inaugurated,” PM Modi said.Assam is on the path to progress,” says PM Modi. “We have launched projects worth thousands of crores.” Today is a new chapter in the history of the Northeast.Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his two-day tour of the Northeast last evening amid angry protests over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill. Activists greeted the Prime Minister with black flags with several civil society groups across the Northeast, including the All Assam Students Union, deciding to intensify their ongoing agitation today. Slogans of “Narendra Modi, Go Back” were heard as activists stood by the roads waving black flags as PM Modi’s motorcade was heading to Raj Bhawan from the airport last evening. PM Modi kicked off his two-day tour of the Northeast by visiting Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. He laid the foundation of a greenfield airport at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh’s Parum Pare district. He will also inaugurate two key energy projects for Assam-Numaligarh Refinery’s bio-diesel plant and the Barauni-Guwahati gas pipeline. In Arunachal Pradesh, the prime minister will launch a new, dedicated Door Darshan channel for the state, aptly named ‘DD Arun Prabha’. PM Modi’s last stop for the day will be in Tripura, where he is scheduled to arrive at around 3.30 pm.