GUWAHATI, June 18 - Hitting out at the Congress, BJP president Amit Shah today claimed that in the last couple of years of rule in the State and Centre, the BJP has been successful in instilling a faith among the people Assam that the State can prosper and develop.
�We were confident that the BJP would come to power in Assam and in other northeastern states. But political pundits were skeptical if the party can usher in development. But under Narendra Modi and Sarbananda Sonowal, the BJP has instilled a faith among the people that the State can prosper and contribute to the country�s GDP,� Shah said addressing a gathering at the event organized to mark the ground-breaking ceremony of the 19 new cancer centres to be set up in collaboration with the Tata Trusts.
He said Assam�s GDP before Independence was one of the highest in the country and the Congress, which ruled the State for majority of the time, was responsible for bringing it down. �Now, the GDP is starting to rise again,� he claimed.
Insisting that the BJP-led Central government has taken several steps to develop communication facilities in the Northeast, he said the region would soon get access to the Chittagong port in Bangladesh which would boost economic activity in the region.
�Prime Minister Modi has always regarded the Northeast as the �astalakshmi� (eight aspects of goddess Laxmi) and given prime importance to its development. Special focus has been given to communication, health and education sectors,� he said, also mentioning about the national health insurance scheme that aims to cover 50 crore people for whom better healthcare was a �distant dream�.
