Previous govts at Centre treated NE as 'money-minting

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Saturday that previous governments at the Centre always treated Northeast as a "money-minting machine" but after the BJP came to power, it sped up development in the region.

Addressing a party meeting in Ngopok village under Mebo assembly constituency in East Siang district, Khandu said the BJP never indulges in petty politics when it comes to welfare and development of people.

"The Congress never bothered to understand the people of Northeast. So when they know nothing about us, how can they provide solution on poverty and backwardness in the region," he said.

Since the BJP is a party that cares, development has sped up in the Northeast and all pending issues, including those related to the Brus and Bodos, were solved, Khandu said.

"The party always tries to be in sync with the aspirations of the Northeastern people for which the DoNER Ministry was formed under Atal Behari Vajpayee," he said.

"For the mechanism of deliverance to be effective, the entire bureaucratic machinery must work towards achieving it as politicians alone can't," he said.

Khandu was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao, state BJP president Biyuram Wahge and MLAs Zingnu Namchoom, Kaling Moyong, Gum Tayeng to the meeting.