PM Narendra Modi ends NE outreach with Assam rally, targets Opposition

PM Modi visits five states in three days, calls for peace in Manipur, attacks Congress in Assam, and launches Rs 36,000 crore projects in Bihar ahead of assembly polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Assam, currently ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition, was facing a demographic challenge due to the Congress’ backing of infiltrators for votes.

 

“The Assam government is evicting encroachers, and providing deprived people land rights,” he said while addressing a rally in  Assam’s Numaligarh town in Golaghat district.

 

“We are taking steps for the welfare of tribals, who were neglected during the Congress rule,” he added.

 

The ruling BJP-led coalition in the state has sought to make infiltration and demographic change in Assam, which is slated to go to polls in April next year, as a key plank.

 

 

The PM’s Assam visit is part of his outreach to the northeast. The September 13-15 tour began with him visiting Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, followed by strife-torn Manipur later in the day on Saturday. He will conclude the three-day tour of five states with his visit to poll-bound Bihar’s Purnea on Monday afternoon after a scheduled halt in West Bengal.

 

In the context of the US tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, Modi, during the Numaligarh rally, said his government is taking steps to reduce imports of crude oil and gas, focusing more on exploration of fossil fuels and green energy. He inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects worth over ₹12,000 crore in the state.

 

Earlier in the day, at Mangaldoi in Assam’s Darrang district, Modi claimed that the Congress leaders insulted legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika in 2019 when his government conferred the Bharat Ratna upon him. The PM also urged people to buy “swadeshi” goods.

 

The PM halted his speech on several occasions and directed security officials to collect paintings of him and his mother from people who brought them as gifts. He thanked them from the dais and asked them to write their names and addresses on the back of the paintings, promising to write a letter to them.

 

His gesture is notable with Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, and he himself, having bemoaned the insult to his mother from the stage of the rival INDIA bloc rally. 

 

In Aizawl, he inaugurated development projects worth ₹9,000 crore. He also inaugurated the Bairabi-Sairang rail line connecting Aizawl to the rest of the country. The PM had visited the state after eight years.

 

Later on Saturday, the PM was in strife-torn Manipur, his first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the state in May 2023 between Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal valley, and the Kuki-Zo community, who predominantly live in the surrounding hills. The Congress and other opposition parties have criticised Modi over the last couple of years for visiting the state.

 

The PM travelled by road to the hill district of Churachandpur, interacted with the displaced people and inaugurated projects worth ₹7,000 crore. He later addressed a gathering at Kangla Fort in Imphal city, 61 km from Churachandpur. The PM called for strengthening dialogue to build a robust bridge of harmony between Manipur’s hill and valley districts.

 

In Purnea, the PM will launch development projects worth ₹36,000 crore, inaugurate a newly developed airport terminal and the National Makhana Board, the setting up of which was announced in the Union Budget earlier this year.

 

Bihar, the politically crucial Hindi heartland, is slated to go to polls by the end of next month. The Election Commission is likely to announce the poll schedule for the 243-member Bihar Assembly soon. The term of the current Assembly will expire on November 22. Elections in the state in 2020 were held in three phases beginning from the last week of October.