KOKRAJHAR, Feb 7 - Asserting that the Centre was serious about accommodating the aspirations of the diverse communities of the Northeast and expedite the region�s development process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the historic Bodo Peace Accord will usher in a new era of peace and progress in the region.
Addressing a mammoth rally of over five lakh people at Kokrajhar, held to celebrate the recently-inked accord, Modi said the whole of India will remember the mass rally as a momentous gathering cutting across caste and creed, and heaped praise on the cultural ethos of the Bodos and other communities.
�We worked on the entire issue of the Northeast with a new approach, as we understood the aspirations and emotions of all the different regions of the Northeast. It is our genuine interaction with the people that made them feel as one of our own. This, in turn, has helped contain extremism to a large extent. Today, the situation here is normal and peaceful compared to what it was earlier,� he said.
Thanking the people for the accord, Modi said the road for permanent peace has opened up only due to their help and willpower. �This is a new opportunity and a new dawn for Assam and the entire Northeast to welcome the 21st century,� he said.
Stating that the prolonged neglect meted out to the Northeast by successive governments had alienated the people, Modi said that political parties never bothered to address the real issues of the region, �but, things are different today, as peace and development have returned to the region due to our sincere and persistent efforts.�
Under the Bodo Accord, Rs 1,500 crore will be given as a special developmental package for boosting the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR)�s development process.
�The Bodos have every right to protect and preserve their language. This, and the development process, will be ensured,� he added.
The Prime Minister, who delighted the crowd by speaking a couple of sentences in Assamese, said the Centre is trying to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord as well.�
�I want to assure the people of Assam that once the committee concerned submits its report, the Central government will act on it swiftly,� he said.
Recalling the contributions of Bodoland martyrs, Modi said that today is the occasion to remember stalwarts such as Upendra Nath Brahma and Roop Nath Brahma and pay homage to them.
Urging all the few remaining ultra outfits of the region to join the mainstream, the Prime Minister said the path of violence leads to nothing except bad, and that every issue can be resolved through negotiations.
He also appealed the Naxals and militants of J&K to learn from the Bodo rebel groups as to how the greater cause of society can be served through peace and nonviolence.
Urging all concerned to join the nation-building process, Modi said that �anti-national forces� were orchestrating the anti-CAA movement. �The people of Assam should not be apprehensive of the CAA, as not a single Bangladeshi foreigner will enter and gain Indian citizenship in Assam post-CAA.�
�I am for the Northeast region and will never betray the trust of its people,� he said, adding that vested interest groups are misleading the masses on the CAA.
�Discard conflict and work for the nation�s progress. We are taking a number of measures to develop the Northeast and project the region as a growth engine for India. It can also become a vibrant tourist destination,� he added.
He also dwelt at length on the progress made in railway gauge conversation, expansion of airports, waterways, gas greed projects, roads, etc.
�The budgetary allocation, which was only around Rs 90,000 crore earlier, has been hiked to over Rs 3 lakh crore for the Northeast during time of our government,� he said.�
Recalling the contributions of the 15th-century saint Srimanta Sankaradeva in shaping the inclusive Assamese society, Modi said Sankaradeva also emphasised the unity and oneness of India. He also remembered Dr Bhupen Hazarika, the Bard of the Brahmaputra, as a force of social unification and brotherhood.
On the Bodo Peace Accord, the Prime Minister said that a Commission as per the agreement will soon be constituted, which will be followed by suitable rehabilitation of the surrendered militants. He assured that the BTR region will be a new model for development in which �the best possible decentralisation of power is ensured and there is nothing to fear for the other communities about losing their rights.�
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal thanked the Prime Minister for his noble initiatives for the State in particular and the Northeast in general.
�Apart from the Act East Policy, the Prime Minister has taken extensive steps to boost the region�s development through several policy initiatives,� he said.
NEDA convener and Assam Finance Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma thanked the Prime Minister for his visit and appealed to the ULFA(I) leadership to come for a peaceful negotiation and join the mainstream.
Speaking on the occasion, ABSU president Promod Boro lauded the initiative of the Prime Minister �as a guardian of the Bodo Peace Accord� and said that the Bodos will remain indebted to Modi for the path-breaking initiative.�He also hoped that the Bodo Accord would be implemented in its letter and spirit.
Earlier, BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary, while welcoming the Prime Minister, together with the Governor, Chief Minister and the signatories of the accord, said that the vexed problem of Bodo insurgency has ended and urged the government to withdraw the cases against surrendered NDFB cadres as had been done with the BLT cadres earlier and to initiate the rehabilitation process at the earliest.
