"In the last 5 years, BJP's double engine government worked towards the overall development of Manipur. You have seen BJP's good governance and good intentions. Our work in the last 5 years has laid the foundation for the next 25 years. You have witnessed BJP's good governance as well as a good intention," said PM Modi.
Imphal
At a time when the voting outcome in the hilly region of Manipur could have a great impact on the fate of
Naga peace process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress for creating hills-valley
divide in the poll-bound state.
"The Congress divided Manipur between hills and valleys and played politics over it. They never worked on
developing and improving connectivity in the region," Modi said in his election rally speech at Heingang
assembly segment here.
"The Congress leaders come to Manipur and make big claims but make fun of the dresses and culture of Northeast
India in other states," he said.
Modi further said that the NDA government believes that the northeast region is the growth engine for India.
The Prime Minister said that decades of Congress rule in Manipur resulted in inequality.
“The BJP government has made the impossible possible. Every region of Manipur has had relief from bandhs and
blockades. Congress, on the other hand, had made bandhs and blockades the main feature of Manipur," he said.
The first phase of polling in Manipur's 40 assembly segments in the Meitei stronghold valleys will take place on Feb 28.
He backed the incumbent Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
"The BJP government in Manipur has turned the impossible into possibility. There was a time that common
people would not be able to reach government offices, but Biren Singh (Chief Minister) has turned his
government as the people’s government," he said.
The Prime Minister himself taking Chief Minister Biren Singh's name could be interpreted as the
Modi-Amit Shah endorsement of Biren's claim to the post of chief minister for the second stint.
Two prominent BJP leaders Thongam Biswajit Singh and Govindas Konthoujam
are reportedly keen to don the leadership role and replace Biren Singh.
The speculation that Biren Singh could get replaced gained currency since the BJP has surprised
friends and foes with its choice of chief ministers in states in the last few years. It replaced Sarbananda Sonowal
with Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam in 2021. In 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, the leadership preferred Yogi Adityanath
instead of Manoj Sinha and in Gujarat, Vijay Rupani was replaced by a first time legislator.
The Prime Minister said the BJP government has written a new chapter of change for Manipur, "taking everyone
forward".
"The youth has given up arms and is coming forward to lead the development surge,” he said.
However, all these would be too early to interpret as his veiled reference to Naga peace talks.
From Nagaland's perspective all eyes are on the Prime Minister and possibly on the outcome of polls in
Uttar Pradesh and Manipur. Though there is no constitutional link to the fate of Naga peace talks and
a proposed agreement with the ongoing state polls, it is presumed a favourable mandate for the saffron party
in UP and Manipur would only strengthen PM's hands and give more weightage to the
resolve to solve decades old Naga insurgency problem.
The second phase of voting in the hills in Manipur is scheduled for March 5.
The Prime Minister also shared his vision for Manipur and other northeastern states saying Manipur
would be the gateway of the East Asian countries for which the railway connectivity is being extended in
the northeastern state.
The Prime Minister said that Manipur would be linked with Myanmar and Thailand through the easy connectivity
between India and the East Asian countries boosting trade and tourism.
“The days are not far away when Manipur capital would be linked by the broad gauge railway network.
Currently, 40 National Highway projects are also being implemented in Manipur,” Modi said.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has said recently that a final location survey of the 111 km Imphal-Moreh
section was started for construction of a new broad gauge railway line aiming to link India with neighbouring Myanmar.
Referring to the Olympians — Indian boxing legend M.C. Mary Kom and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu — the Prime
Minister said that the central government had already initiated the process to set up India’s first Sports University in Manipur.
.
He said the bandh (shut down) and violence culture have been eliminated in Manipur by the BJP government in five years.
To protect the demography, culture and tradition of the people of Manipur, the Central government has promulgated the Inner Line Permit fulfilling the long pending demand of the state, Modi said.
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