NEW DELHI, May 11 � In what is seen as an attempt by the Modi government to replace appointees chosen by the UPA government, the Centre has asked MP Bezbaruah to quit as a member of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The former Union tourism secretary, who headed the Bezbaruah Committee that looked into the issues concerning people of the north-eastern region living in other parts of India, said his resignation has been accepted.
He said he quit after being given broad hints to quit. The NDA government is appointing two new people to the NEC, including one in his place.
Bezbaruah told this newspaper that he had submitted his resignation about a month back. �Yes, I have resigned. I have given my resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I today (Monday) got to know that it has been accepted.�
�I was told to resign as the government was in a mood to appoint their own people in the agency. The NEC has a very important role in the development of the North-east and I feel that whoever comes as its member should be very much focused and have a pro-north-east view,� he said. Bezbaruah, a 1964 batch IAS officer, headed the Bezbaruah Committee, which was set up in the wake of the killing of Arunachal Pradesh youth Nido Tania in Delhi in 2014.
