PM Modi terms settlement of Bru-Reang refugee crisis as historic in 'Mann Ki Baat'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the solution of the Bru-Reang refugee crisis was a historic decision, which ended the more than two-decade-old problems of the community.

While addressing his first monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' of the year, PM Modi said, "Two weeks ago, a very important agreement was signed in New Delhi which ended the chapter of the painful, almost 25-year-old, Bru-Reang refugee crisis."

"This problem dates back to the 1990s. In 1997, Bru-Reang tribals had to leave Mizoram and take refuge in Tripura due to ethnic tension. The refugees were kept in temporary camps in Kanchanpur in North Tripura," he said.

PM Modi said that members of the tribal community had to spend a large part of their lives in refugee camps, which meant them being deprived of the basic facilities.

"It is very painful that people of Bru-Reang spent a sizeable portion of their life in these camps as refugees. For them, living in camps meant deprivation from the basic amenities of life. For 23 years, there were no homes, no land, neither were there any medical facilities for the families nor education for their children," Modi said.

"They spent every moment of their lives in uncertainty. Governments came and went but none could solve their problems. But despite all odds, their belief in the Constitution and culture remained intact and this very belief has brought a new dawn in their lives," said PM.

He commended the signing of the agreement and said, "The pact has opened the path of a dignified life for them. The new decade of 2020 has brought a new ray of hope in their lives. Around 34 thousand Bru-Reang refugees will be settled in Tripura, Centre will assist in rehabilitations and their overall development by giving a package of around Rs 600 crore."

"Every displaced family will get a plot, assistance for homes and rations will be given to them. They will also be able to take the benefits of Centre and State's public welfare schemes," he said, enlisting the benefits of the pact.

The Prime Minister thanked the people of both the states and the respective Chief Ministers of Mizoram and Tripura for ending the crisis.

"This is a unique agreement for a number of reasons, it depicts the essence of co-operative federalism. For this agreement, the Chief Ministers of both Mizoram and Tripura were present and it was signed with the agreement and wishes of the two states. I thank the CMs and people of both the states," Modi said.

"I once again extend my wishes to the people of both the states and the Bru-Reang community," he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 16 had presided over the signing of an agreement between the central government and the Chief Ministers of Tripura and Mizoram Biplab Kumar Deb and Zoramthanga and Bru refugee representatives under which around 34,000 internally displaced people will be settled in Tripura.