AGARTALA, Aug 13 - Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today urged tribal youths, who are still pursuing the wrong path, to join the development process in the State.
�Today�s surrender of 88 militants of the NLFT proves that the path they had adopted long ago was not the right. Now the time has come for those who are still misguided, should join hands to speed up development,� Deb said after welcoming the surrendered militants led by self-styled leader, Suren Debbarma, at the Chandraipara HS School, Ambassa, in Dhalai district.
Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, MLP Rampada Jamatia and Additional Chief Secretary Kumar Alok were also present in the surrender ceremony.
Asserting that the present Government is committed to welfare of the indigenous people with help from all sections of people, the Chief Minister gave an assurance to fulfil all conditions mentioned in the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) with the outlawed group. The MoS was inked in New Delhi on August 10. Deb also urged the surrendered militants to stick to the MoS for its better implementation.
Hitting out at the previous governments, Deb said that there would not have been such surrender ceremonies if the policies pursued by the successive governments from 1980 to 2005 were right. �They did not work for the welfare of the indigenous people. With Modiji�s slogan, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikash, Sabka Viswas�, we want to boost the socio-economic condition of the tribal people,� he said.
The Chief Minister said the process has already started to raise two Indian Reserve (IR) battalions for the State, which will create 2,200 jobs. �Following our request, the Centre has relaxed minimum educational qualifications for ST/SC candidates to Class VIII-passed instead of Class X-passed,� he said.
The surrendered insurgents deposited three carbines, one mortar, six SLRs, four Chinese rifles and nineteen 303 rifles.
