Insurgency over, time for change in approach of police in NE: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the time has come for a change in approach of the police force with the end of insurgency in the northeast, in order to ensure that people get speedy justice.

Shah, addressing the 72nd plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought peace in the region by inking 20 peace accords in 10 years, leading to the surrender of 9,000 armed militants.

The police fought insurgency in the northeast for the past four decades. As insurgency has now ended, we need to change the approach of the force to ensure people get justice within three years of lodging FIRs, he said.

The home minister also said connectivity is no longer a problem in the region, as the Centre has spent Rs 81,000 crore for rail connectivity and Rs 41,000 crore for road network in the northeastern states.

Asserting that PM Modi expedited development activities in the northeast, Shah said Union ministers spent 700 nights in states of the region since the BJP-led NDA assumed power at the Centre.

After the exchange of enclaves (land boundary agreements) with Bangladesh, the whole world will open for the northeast. This will change the investment ecosystem in the region, he said.

The senior BJP leader also laid emphasis on the upliftment of people in rural areas by promoting vegetable cultivation, production of milk, eggs and meat.

Only a hike in the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) is not enough for overall development. There is a need to attain self-sufficiency in vegetables, milk, eggs and meat, he said.

Besides, the central government has been focusing on organic cultivation in the region, said Shah.

The Centre has already constituted the National Organic Corporation Ltd to boost the sector. I urge all the CMs (in the northeast) to sign agreements with NOCL for packaging, marketing and exporting of organic products, he said.

The home minister, however, said more efforts were needed to tackle narcotics smuggling in the region.

Earlier in the day, Shah inaugurated the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) at Prajna Bhavan here.

Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with governors, chief ministers of all the eight northeastern states, and senior officials, were also present at the event.

The council is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the northeastern region, consisting of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.