North-East was neglected, suffered most under Congress rule: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that Rahul Gandhi's comment on the North-East is outrageous and the North-East actually suffered for over half a century under Congress rule.

"It is outrageous what Rahul Gandhi is saying. The extent of neglect that the North-East has suffered for over half a century under Congress rule is a testimony in itself," Singh told ANI.

Singh's comments came after Rahul Gandhi had accused the BJP government of 'ethnically cleansing' the North-East by bringing in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

"The CAB is an attempt by Modi-Shah Govt to ethnically cleanse the North East. It is a criminal attack on the North East, their way of life and the idea of India. I stand in solidarity with the people of the North East and am at their service," Rahul Gandhi tweeted from his official handle.

Jitendra Singh went on to say that the North-East saw development measures only in the BJP regime and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been instrumental in initiating many schemes for the region.

"Prime Minister Modi traveled over 30 times to the North-East in his first term. It must be more than the total number of such visits undertaken by all the Congress prime ministers put together. Guwahati has been made into an international airport in the past four-five years. The Bhupen Hazarika bridge in Assam, inland waterways were made because of the personal intervention of Prime Minister Modi," he said.

"Congress needs to answer questions on the North-East. Why Shillong, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim did not have airports after so many years of independence?" he added.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes in Lok Sabha where 391 members were present and voting.

The bill has been tabled in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

It seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.